PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Sahith Theegala almost lost his way in a water hazard during a four-hole stretch that occurred precisely in the midst of his round. He also managed to squeeze two approach shots through tiny openings in the forest and made a birdie on the par-5 second hole without ever setting foot on the fairway. All four of those holes would have been bogeyed by lesser men. They lost against Theegala in one under.
The other fourteen holes were all quite Houdini-esque. It’s not surprising that Theegala, who ranks 129th on tour in driving accuracy this season, only hit seven of the 14 fairways at TPC Sawgrass. At the challenging Pete Dye layout, that is usually a recipe for catastrophe, but Theegala shot a five-under 67 with just one bogey, putting him at seven under and tied for tenth going into the weekend.
Theegala remarked afterwards, “It was probably one of the worst-best scoring rounds I’ve had.” “To be honest, I played very good for the first five holes. However, I was really lucky to stay up on hole 17, where I just jammed the wedge in the ground and it hooked. And everything was a disaster after that.”
However, it was an incredibly entertaining disaster to witness, and it uncannily reminded me of some of the best messes that Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth had made over the years. You just never know what’s going to happen next with those two. A comparable feeling is produced by theegala rounds. Strike it everywhere, seek it out if you can, and devise strategies for making birdies and pars, as he did.
Theegala was overjoyed to learn that the round had prompted some Spieth comparisons on social media. He went so far as to defend Spieth against detractors who frequently point out how much “luck” goes into a Spieth round that is an absolute roller coaster.
“Today I had a Spieth vibe. It felt nice. Theegala laughed, “Hit it in the trees and have a gap.” “But no, that guy practices this stuff. I know everyone claims he gets lucky and all this stuff, but it’s evident from watching him practice. He has amazing hands. He creates spaces where none exist. There’s undoubtedly some skill involved with that guy because he manages to make shots that look fortuitous and impossible at the same time. He is crazy.
“If I’m getting comparisons [to Spieth], I don’t mind it.”
Nevertheless, Theegala wouldn’t object to being compared to Scottie Scheffler. But that would be a slightly more dull game for him.
“That’s all Rick Hunter, my coach, and I work on. attempting to play “boresome golf,” he remarked. “I’ll always enjoy myself when I’m outside. I do that quite a bit. And I am aware that timing has a small role in how mechanically my swing works. I am aware that things will occasionally go awry. All we’re doing is tightening it up as much as we can.
But knowing that even if it went wrong, I could still find a way to score and get it in made today fantastic. Even yet, I made several pretty nice photos, like on eight. Simply trusting your instincts and aiming high. Yes, but always attempting to make it tighter.”
Although playing “boring” golf is usually a recipe for success, Theegala has previously achieved success on the PGA Tour, a top 10 at the Masters, and several runner-up finishes by going his own way. Furthermore, as to he pointed out, what fun is that?
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