Even on video replay, it’s tough to tell if Sahith Theegala touched the sand in a bunker Saturday at East Lake, but he’s apparently pretty certain he did.
After hitting his tee shot on the 4th hole of the third round at the Tour Championship Saturday, Theegala called over a PGA Tour rules official to tell him he believed he touched the sand while playing his approach from a fairway bunker a hole earlier.
After Theegala and the official discussed for a moment, PGA Tour lead TV rules and video analyst Mark Dusbabek came on the NBC broadcast to confirm Theegala was accessed a two-stroke penalty for breaking Rule 12.2b.
“He feels that he touched the sand on his last hole when he was taking his backswing,” Dusbabek said. “It is a penalty if you touch the sand while your ball is in the sand. We have confirmation that he feels that he did, so it’s going to be a two-shot penalty for him.”
This is the first event held at the newly renovated East Lake and NBC analyst Brad Faxon was quick to point out Theegala was close to the lip of the first right-hand fairway bunker on three.
“So he was trying to hit a shot that he had to hit up in the air,” Faxon said. “A lot of times, you put a little bit more weight back on your right foot and the takeaway would be lower because of that.
“That stinks and that’s pretty cool that he would admit it because no one else would have seen it.”
After the round, Theegala recounted his point of view of the events.
“I was in the bunker, took my backswing, and to give context, I through it in the bunker right on the lip; ball rolled up the lip and came back right on top of where it pitched. So it was a very unusual lie. It was teed up in the sand. It was a really nice lie,” he said. “So it was an unusual lie, and I usually pick up the club and take it back, but because of the lie, right on my backswing I felt like I moved a few grains of sand for sure. In my peripheral, I thought I saw some of the sand move as I took my backswing.
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“Immediately after I hit it— I hit it, great contact, great shot, talked to Xander [Schauffele] about it. I was like, ‘Hey, dude, I think I moved some sand while I hit that shot,’ and we thought that it was no big deal because there was no intent, didn’t feel like— it didn’t actually change the lie at all.
“But unfortunately the rule is it doesn’t matter the intent.”
Theegala and Schauffele both initially thought there was no infraction, but when an official reached them, they found out it would be the general penalty of two-strokes.
Theegala had just made a 25-foot putt at No. 2 to get to 13 under, in solo 4th and seven shots behind Scottie Scheffler in the race for the Tour Championship and $25 million FedEx Cup titles. After the ruling, his par on the 3rd hole was changed to a double bogey and he dropped back to 11 under, in a tie for fifth.
Smylie Kauffman reported Theegala slammed his water bottle on the ground in frustration after getting the ruling.
After Theegala eventually played his approach to the 4th hole, the NBC team took a slow-mo, zoomed-in look at Theegala’s bunker shot at No. 3 and none could identify where Theegala touched the sand.
“I don’t see much there,” analyst Kevin Kisner said. “I’d be arguing with [Dusbabek] when I got done. Give me my two shots back.”
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That’s when NBC brought Dusbabek back on to confirm that it was Theegala himself who self-reported the infraction. Self-reporting penalties is nothing new in golf, a collegiate player self-reported fixing aeration marks in a U.S. Open qualifier last year (This writer self-reported inadvertently moving a ball in an amateur qualifier this past spring). But it’s a rarity on the PGA Tour where cameras and spectators witness every single shot.
Theegala said there was no chance he was going to try to sweep the potential infraction under the rug.
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” he said. “No matter what the outcome was, I needed to know what the actual rule was. Even though me and Xander thought it’s just whatever, it’s fine, you touched a grain of sand, didn’t mean to move it, you’re good…
“Again, intuition, it felt like I moved the sand. It was sitting in my mind. If I went back after the round, looked that up and found out that it was a two-shot penalty, I would be DQ’d right now. So I am glad I brought it up right away. I know the rules of golf a little bit better now. There is a lot of silly stuff you can do in the bunker. You can chuck a club in the bunker, you can literally stand— you can use your golf club as a stand in the bunker. As long as it’s not right next to your ball.
“There’s a lot of things you can do. But unfortunately, if it’s in the area affecting the lie and the swing of your shot, regardless of intent, it’s a two-shot penalty.”
The NBC team took another longer look at Theegala’s entire time over the ball after Dusbabek finished his hit.
“The hitter always knows,” said Kisner, who is still somewhat active on the PGA Tour. “You know when it’s going to be short. You know when it’s going to be long and you know if you brush that sand. He felt like he could feel the sand along the club when he took it back.”
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Dusbabek confirmed that officials would discuss the incident with Theegala again after the round and show him the video. But officials approached Theegala again about 30 minutes later after he walked off the 6th tee.
Despite some fans near Theegala when he played No. 3 telling him they did not see him touch the sand, the Tour discovered video evidence proving Theegala’s claim.
“When you see the video, there is a ridge of sand, right behind the ball, that you can see has been taken away when he takes his backswing,” Dusbabek said.
Theegala, who reviewed the video with rules officials for several minutes before signing his card, disagreed that the video was conclusive, but remained steadfast they be believes he moved the sand.
“Unfortunately they couldn’t come up with the clearest evidence,” he said. “The camera angle they had was pretty far behind the ball and it was kind of zoomed out. It was really tough to see.”
Theegala went on to par the 4th hole and even parred in till the 10th hole. Then he caught fire on the back nine, making seven birdies against one bogey to post a 66, even with the penalty. He shot up the leaderboard to 17 under for the week after starting the tournament at three under. He’ll start the final round in solo third, but nine shots behind Scottie Scheffler.
“I’m just really happy I made that putt [on 4] because if I didn’t make that putt I would have been really hot walking to hole 5,” he said. “Yeah, just gave a little bit more fuel to the fire, I guess. Just tried to use that positively. My caddie, Carl, kept telling me that I’ve been playing awesome. Just keep doing your thing.
“Two shots is a lot, but at the end of the day you’ve got a lot more golf to play. Tried to use it as a positive.”
