Sahith Theegala has once again demonstrated this Saturday why golf is a different sport where players act as their own referees. It happened on hole 3 of his third round at the Tour Championship, the grand finale of the FedEx Cup taking place on the East Lake course, in Atlanta.
Theegala had started his round with a par on hole 1 and a great birdie on 2, right after sinking a birdie putt of about seven metres. The American golfer of Indian origin is high up in the ranking and this birdie put him in an even better position.
Shortly after, on hole 3, par 4, his tee shot ended up in the right fairway bunker. He had about 130 metres to the flag. He made a modest shot, to the green, but more than twelve metres from the hole. With two putts he secured the par, sinking one of less than two metres.
However, the final result of that hole has been a ‘6’, double bogey. The reason is that Theegala called a referee as he was on his way to the 4th tee to explain that he had the feeling and conviction that he had touched the sand during the backswing on his second shot on 3, from the bunker. The referee asked Theegala if he was sure and the golfer said yes. As such, according to the rules of golf, for improving the position of his ball, even unintentionally, he immediately receives a two-stroke penalty.
The most important thing about this matter is that nobody had seen it and it was Theegala himself who reported what had happened and imposed the penalty on himself. Moreover, in the television images, in slow motion, the contact is practically imperceptible. One would not bet on what is seen in the video.
Sahith Theegala self-reported a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand with his club during his backswing.
He currently moves from -13 to -11, but will have the opportunity to review the penalty with a rules official following his round. pic.twitter.com/rLAgGJGZ5c
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 31, 2024
The referee told Theegala that at the end of the round he would have the opportunity to check the images to ascertain whether or not he had touched the sand. The American is at the top of the ranking. After the penalty and the consequent double bogey, he signed seven consecutive pars. From there, in the next five holes, he made four birdies. Without the penalty, Theegala would even have been fighting for victory in the Tour Championship. Hats off.
