THE SENTRY

January 4, 2024

Sahith Theegala

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Quick Quotes

Q. When I saw you earlier you said you still weren't over being a PGA TOUR winner. How does that change things for you?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, golf-wise, actually, in general, it really hasn't changed much. If anything, it's just kind of given me a little more validation, and as I'm progressing in my young pro career I realize I don't really need too much validation, it's just, keep putting in the work and results will come when they come, and, if not, work harder, and just be patient. But it's something that nobody can take away and it's just a testament to all the work. You need a couple good breaks along the way, and I got it there. Looking back, I'm always going to be able to look back on that win and just kind of how we went about our process, and just every little thing that kind of went into that win is always going to be used as a positive to me to -- if I'm either -- both ways. If I'm struggling or doing really well I can always look back at that and be like, All right, I kind of did this and that during that week, and that's something that's going to be big, I think, coming up as I hopefully put myself in contention as much as possible.

Q. Of the six in a row which is your favorite?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Probably 12. Just because I hit a great drive, almost got -- just hit it in the greenside bunker there. Didn't hit a great bunker shot and I had a really gnarly 8- or 9-footer that I didn't know which way it was going to break, grain was going all over the place. I just aimed it dead center and tried to hit it hard and hearted that putt, and that settled me down a little bit more, because I knew 13, 14, 15 were very gettable too, so to make that putt was nice.

Q. Was it hard being patient for that win?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Maybe not as hard as it seemed from the outside looking in. Just because, the way I looked at it, it was just how often I've been in contention come Sunday on the back nine. My second year on TOUR, I really didn't put myself in position very much compared to my rookie year. I think I was there three or four times. Last year it really felt like maybe one time at, early in the year, at RSM. So, yeah, it was just -- wow, what was the question?

Q. Was it hard being patient?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, it really wasn't that hard being patient about that because I knew -- even though the results weren't incredible, I still had a really nice summer and played really well last year. I knew if I just keep doing that and keep getting better in the little parts of the game, not to worry about the whole thing, I knew eventually I will be in that position that I'm in contention come Sunday, and it just happened to be this time -- I had a four- or five-shot lead, which made it a lot easier, too. It really wasn't too difficult to stay patient, just I just kept reminding myself, this is only my second year on TOUR, and I didn't feel like I was, a lot of people were putting expectations on me or anything. I don't know if I did a good job of blocking that out or if that was actually the case. But, yeah, honestly, it was easier than maybe it would seem from the outside.