MONTREAL — He finds dad first. Of course he would. Dad’s been perpetually steady, and he’s affectionately bubbly, and on Royal Montreal’s 1st hole, in front of 4,000 rowdies and ahead of his first Presidents Cup, which is also his first-ever team event, steady and bubbly are welcome. Upon spotting him to the left of the tee box, they dap hands.
He heads back. It’s time. He’s breathing, we think. He settles in. He gives one, two, three, four, five looks down the fairway, before the most unexpected thing happens during this biennial event’s day one.
Sahith Theegala finds the fairway.
You see, he’s a bit fairway averse, though pridefully so. Even compares himself to someone else who also plays the game mostly left and right, before somehow getting up-and-down.
“I probably bring a different style of game,” Theegala said Tuesday. “A lot of these guys are just, I mean, robots, for lack of a better word. They hit it so good. And point A to point B pretty much every time.
“And I feel like I bring a different flair for match play. I tend to hit it everywhere at times. I’m not going to compare myself to [Jordan] Spieth, not even close. But try Spieth-like at times with just trying to get creative and escapes. Nobody is going to be able to match that guy. But just a little more creative ways to the green. I’m a scrambler. I’m kind of a scorer. A little different flair for the team. Those guys are so good that I’m just trying to find a way to hit the ball in the hole as fast as possible.”
Presidents, Ryder and Solheim Cups, of course, demand such sparks, such fire-starters, and as the story is written this week, the latest may just be this 26-year-old from So Cal, who’s so earnest that a month ago, at the Tour Championship, we saw him self-report an infraction that added two strokes and eventually docked him $2.5 mill, who’s golf bag is so deep that he’s world No. 11 as of this deadline. Thursday, while partnered with Collin Morikawa in four-ball play, Theegala clinched a point on 18, and the sequence was something. Fairway. (Another one!) Iron stuffed to 2 feet. (Spiethian!). Putt. (Hugs and handshakes time, part of a 5-0 USA lead!)
Back to dad, though. We must. Murli Theegala enhances the story, though his son tells it best. Before he does, know just that dad is his son’s chief fan — he’s easy to find here this week, wearing a white ‘Team Theegala’ hat — and the feeling is shared. On Tuesday, I’d asked the younger Theegala whom his role model was and received this answer, and it’s lengthy, but we promise it’s good:
“Yeah, the easy answer for that and my true, honest answer is my father. I wouldn’t say — in a weird way, I wouldn’t say it’s because of what he did for me but more how he treats other people. He makes everyone feel like — and this is not fake at all — he makes everyone feel like your best friend. And it’s not fake at all. He feels like he just wants to spread joy to the world.
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“We’re not naive to the world. He’s not naive to the world. Life is hard. Life is hard. And what we’re doing out here kind of feels like a dream sometimes. I’m not saying what we do isn’t hard. I’m just saying that we’re very lucky to be in the position.
“He does such a great job reminding me what life is all about. It’s all about people. And just gotta be nice to people — no matter what the situation is you never know what someone is going through.
“It’s my dad, for his mentality and how to go about life. It’s a team effort. My mom, too. My mom has instilled so many values. She’s a little harder on me than my dad, which I’m very thankful for. It’s a great duo. But one role model, I’d say my father.”
Did he feel an obligation himself to be a role model?
“You know what, I don’t feel it as an obligation,” Theegala said. “I just look at it as I have a really cool platform and it doesn’t take too much effort to spread kindness. And I do try to — I go out of my way sometimes to — sometimes could be a detriment, but say hey to the fans or sign or whatever it might be.
“But I think I’m just lucky that my parents instilled in me at a young age you shake hands, you ask how people are doing. And I do have to remind myself — the big thing for me is, funny enough, the volunteers. There’s so many volunteers out there. These tournaments are impossible without these volunteers. So just the ‘thank yous’ as I’m heading to the tee box or walking off a green or they’re putting a flag down because I’m in the rough a lot. Just a simple thank you.
“And I know how a very small gesture can go a long way. And it’s cool that people can think of me as a role model. I think thinking of yourself as a role model is maybe not the best way to go about it, but you know that people are watching you and you know that kids are watching you and you want to put your best self forward. I feel like my best self forward is just me being me because of how my parents raised me.”
One more question from earlier this week, on both his dad and mom, Karuna. They’re both from India, while their son was born in the U.S., now playing on an American team.
Your parents immigrated to this country. They worked really hard for you to be able to play golf. Is this a week, where you’re getting to wear the red, white and blue, where you’re able to sit back and reflect on this whole journey?
“For sure. It’s pretty wild,” Theegala said. “I don’t think this is what my dad had envisioned when he came over to the U.S. from India. But it means the world that — I know my dad is super thankful for the country and the opportunity it’s given him. At the same time, he also took that opportunity. That’s the greatness of this country.
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“That opportunity has led to my opportunity. And just to be able to give back to the country — I don’t necessarily see it as giving back to the country, but just to play for your country and wear your colors and represent means the world.
“It fires me up a lot to see other guys on the team who want it so bad and be so meaningful to them. I know it’s well documented, but Scottie [Scheffler] at the Olympics, winning it for the U.S., it’s such a big deal. There’s no bigger events than when you play for your country.
“It is a little bit full circle. It’s very humbling and gratifying at the same time. But it’s awesome. I can’t wait for my parents to be here. And they’re going to soak up the whole experience just as much as I am.”
They did. The moment on 1. The moment on 18. This was something, too. After his boy’s iron to the green, Murli slapped one hand. Then another. Dozens in all. They’re playing in Canada, but who doesn’t like to be happy with a proud dad? Greenside, Murli saw his son win. The party started. Tony Finau hugged him and called him “pops.”
I asked Murli for a second. I got several minutes. Below are the words, but please picture him smiling.
What was today like?
“Oh, I can’t believe it, right? I was just waiting for the day to get started. I think this is a fun format, I love it. Individual sport is great, but team sports are so much fun. I was excited, just waiting for this day to begin. And it’s a good format for him, so there’s no pressure on him like foursomes; four-ball is a better way to go so that you can rely on your partner a little bit. I was happy that they did a great job. I was happy with Sahith today. I was waiting all day for him to just get one nice shot in there and that great shot, he did it.”
When he came to 1 tee and saw you to the left, you guys slapped hands, what was that moment like, if you can try to explain it?
“That’s incredible. He’s such a nice kid. That’s what he does. I mean, that’s incredible for him to recognize that we came down, and all the way from there, and he still recognized us. That’s incredible to watch him just come over and say, have fun.”
When you saw the shot on 18, what was that like?
“You know, I was just telling the fans over there, I’m just waiting for one shot to highlight his day because I’ve always watched him, and that’s the shot, that was incredible. I think [assistant captain] Stewart Cink was saying, ‘Did it hit the flagstick?’ ‘I don’t think so, Stewart, but it looks close.”
In that moment, when you were walking up and you were getting the high-fives …
“Absolutely. I said, OK, one shot, you did it, you did it for fun today. Because it means a lot for him, just first match in a team event. I think getting that win on your shot is an incredible feeling. It bodes well for the rest of the tournament, yeah.”
Could you ever have imagined this when you came to the United States, something like this? I know that’s a big question, but …
“No, no, no, absolutely not, absolutely not. I never dreamt that he was going to be like a professional golfer. He loved sports. I loved sport. My passion was sports, so I just kind of rode with him, all the highs and lows, and it’s incredible what he did at Pepperdine and when he had the injury he came back strong mentally. And he loves the game so much, I think that passion — even when you wake up in the middle of the night, he still wants to go play 18 holes. That’s his passion. And then I was there to enjoy every minute of it. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Here, I snapped a photo, then told Murli that his son told me he was his role model. He smiled.
But to end things here, back to Spieth, to his comebacks. Back to the 1st hole. Back to the embrace, or more specifically afterward.
Our protagonist forgot to get his parents inside-the-ropes access.
“I felt bad, they were just walking with the crowd on hole 1,” he said. “I know I saw my dad getting ambushed by a bunch of fans, which is awesome. He loves it, too.
“But it means the world that they’re here. He’s not afraid to show his emotions, and I think that’s kind of where I get my emotions on the golf course, too.”
But the younger Theegala eventually rallied.
On hole 2, his coach and trainer got them their passes.
