WATCH: Sahith Theegala’s dad, family get ecstatic as the golfer’s finishes on a high after his penalty fiasco at the Tour Championship
Sahith Theegala's father, Murli, was ecstatic to see his son play fabulously despite earning a penalty on the third hole during the third round of the 2024 Tour Championship. The American golfer encountered trouble while hitting a shot from a bunker on the third hole, realizing that his club had touched the sand.
Theegala reported the incident to PGA Tour officials and was later given a two-stroke penalty for violating Rule 12.2b. However, even after the penalty, he managed to post a good score thanks to his remarkable performance on the back nine.
Murli, along with other family members, was present to watch Sahith play. As the golfer hit five consecutive birdies on the concluding holes, Murli cheered loudly for his son.
Check out the video below:
Sahith Theegala started his round with a par on the first hole on Saturday. He quickly sank a birdie on the second hole but ran into trouble on the third, resulting in a double bogey.
However, he bounced back with back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, added a bogey on the 13th, and then shot five consecutive birdies from the 14th to the 18th holes, finishing with a score of 5-under 66.
Theegala ended the day in third place after Saturday's round at the Tour Championship. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler extended his lead and will enter the final round on Sunday, September 1, five strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa.
"It just felt like a lot of my game is really feeling good"- Sahith Theegala on his performance at Tour Championship
Sahith Theegala opened up about his performance in the third round of the Tour Championship during a press conference on Saturday. He expressed satisfaction with his game, stating (via ASAP Sports):
"I've been hitting my short irons and wedges really nice this week. It's been a big emphasis of mine the latter part of the year. I've really struggled weirdly in that distance. Putting a lot of work the last month or so, and I feel like I've hit a lot of those 120 to 170 shots really close, which has been awesome," Theegala said.
"I've just had a bunch of opportunities, and my driver hasn't been super straight, but the putter has been great from that length, and I've made a lot of putts from that distance, which was big. Just some momentum putts that kind of kept the birdies going. Yeah, it just felt like a lot of my game is really feeling good right now," he added.
Meanwhile, the final round of the Tour Championship is scheduled for Sunday, September 1, at East Lake Golf Club. The tournament will begin at 10:21 a.m. ET, with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Tom Hoge teeing off first. Theegala will pair up with Xander Schauffele, with their round starting at 12:54 p.m. ET.