ATLANTA – Sahith Theegala wasn’t 100% sure he’d brushed the sand on his back swing from a bunker on the third hole Sunday at the Tour Championship and a video review of the incident was inconclusive. But even with that uncertainty, he was fine with the outcome — a two-stroke penalty for violating Rule 12.1.
“I’m still going to sleep great. Whatever, two shots, I feel good about it. I think it was a penalty. I think I moved sand. Just a weird situation,” Theegala said following an otherwise textbook 5-under 66 that moved him into third place at the PGA Tour finale.
The alternative would have been not informing officials immediately after the incident that he believed he’d brushed the sand and that simply wasn’t an option.
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” he said. “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 [disqualified] right now. I am glad I brought it up right away.”
The “weird situation” began when Theegala drove into a bunker down the right side of the par-4 third hole. He explained that his ball rolled up the face of the bunker before settling back into the initial pitch mark leaving his ball “teed up in the sand.”
From 149 yards, Theegala launched his approach just short of the putting surface but immediately sensed he’d brushed the sand, although he was unsure it was a violation of the Rules of Golf.
“It was a very little amount of sand. I can say that with full honesty and clarity. It was not a very large amount of sand,” he said. “Some of the sand moved; maybe it did improve it. But it was on the backswing.”
Theegala was assessed the penalty because he’d changed his lie in the “direct area around” his golf ball. Had he touched the sand with his club away from that area there would have been no violation.
Despite the two-shot penalty, Theegala scorched the back nine at East Lake with birdies at Nos. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 to move to within nine strokes of third-round leader Scottie Scheffler.
