How much did Sahith Theegala’s self-reported two-shot penalty cost him? Potential finish and earning explored

Sahith Theegala's self-reporting of a two-stroke penalty during the third round of the 2024 Tour Championship cost him $2.5 million in prize money. On Saturday, August 31, during the third round of the PGA Tour event, the American golfer alerted officials that his club had touched the sand after hitting the ball while playing from a bunker, a violation of Rule 12.2b, and Theegala was given a two-stroke penalty.

Although there was no clear footage of the California native's club touching the sand, Theegala said he was "90 percent sure" that the sand moved, leading to the penalty. When the tournament concluded on Sunday, September 1, he finished with a score of 24-under, two strokes behind second-placed Collin Morikawa.

If he had not reported the incident during the third round, the PGA Tour champion would have ended up tied with Morikawa at 26-under for second place. According to the PGA Tour's prize money distribution guidelines, if players tie for second place, the combined prize money for second and third places is split between them.

The prize for second place at the 2024 Tour Championship was $12,500,000, while third place was $7,500,000. After combining and splitting the amounts, Sahith Theegala would have earned $10 million. However, by finishing in solo third place, he earned $7.5 million, effectively losing $2.5 million in prize money.

2024 Tour Championship prize money ft. Sahith Theegala and others

Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Tour Championship and earned $25 million in prize money. He finished four strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa, who claimed solo second place. Sahith Theegala finished a solo third.

Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with Russell Henley and Adam Scott, each earning $4,833,333 in prize money. Rory McIlroy earned $1.6 million after finishing in a tie for ninth place.

Here is the leaderboard and prize money for the 2024 Tour Championship:

1 Scottie Scheffler: $25,000,000
2 Collin Morikawa: $12,500,000
3 Sahith Theegala: $7,500,000
T4 Russell Henley: $4,833,333
T4 Adam Scott: $4,833,333
T4 Xander Schauffele: $4,833,333
7 Sungjae Im: $2,750,000
8 Wyndham Clark: $2,250,000
T9 Rory McIlroy: $1,608,333
T9 Hideki Matsuyama: $1,608,333
T9 Shane Lowry: $1,608,333
T12 Viktor Hovland : $1,000,000
T12 Sam Burns: $1,000,000
T14 Justin Thomas: $905,000
T14 Taylor Pendrith: $905,000
16 Ludvig Aberg: $795,000
T17 Robert MacIntyre: $755,000
T17 Matthieu Pavon: $755,000
T17 Patrick Cantlay: $755,000
20 Tommy Fleetwood: $715,000
T21 Keegan Bradley: $660,000
T21 Byeong Hun An: $660,000
T23 Billy Horschel: $615,000
T23 Aaron Rai: $615,000
T23 Tony Finau: $615,000
26 Akshay Bhatia : $590,000
T27 Chris Kirk: $575,000
T27 Sepp Straka: $575,000
T29 Christiaan Bezuidenhout: $555,000
T29 Tom Hoge: $555,000

The Tour Championship is the final event of the FedEx Cup. Following this, PGA Tour players will head into the fall season events. The next PGA Tour event is the Procore Championship, scheduled from September 12 to 15.