MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 13, 2024

Sahith Theegala

Quick Quotes

Q. Tough day out there today?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, game felt good again. Like it's all there. Just didn't execute. Hit some good shots where it started just a little bit offline, and then it ended up -- I got Augusta'ed a few times. Like I kept hitting it 6 inches off the green in areas where it would come down if it was 6 inches shorter. It happened a few times.

It's fun, though. This is probably the firmest I've played it. It's still receptive enough where no section of any green is unattainable. You can still hit it to pretty much any section. Maybe except 17; can't get it near that.

Yeah, it was actually really fun. I didn't play well, but it was fun. It was a fun day.

Q. You had a great start all the way through the 8th.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, yeah, I've got to figure out the first three holes because I haven't even had a good birdie look on 2 or 3 yet. Just hitting it in the wrong spots with my second shot on 2. Well, I drove it in the bunker the first two days.

Today I had an 8-iron. I was on the left side, so I had to hit a pretty big hook. I didn't want to hit it in the right bunker so I was like, let me just try and hit it long, and just hit it thin, came up in the front bunker, which is as good as -- Kenny would've hit it within 10 feet there.

Then 3 hit a bad wedge shot and left myself a 15-foot downhiller. So even on 3 and then fighting on 4, 5, 6. Hole 9, I hit a great drive down and I was on the drain. The only way I could drop it was on a big downslope than the rest of the fairway. I had to drop it, and I'm placing like this all the way at the bottom of the hill.

I came in so low and hot and couldn't stop it. After that, I didn't quite have it. 11 was another -- I hit two great shots to 8 or 9 feet. It could have been a momentum putt, and I missed that one and parred 13. Then hit it in the trees a bunch coming in.

Yeah, it was a good start. Just it could have been a lot better. You kind of need that buffer. I know it's a mental thing, but you kind of want that buffer of being 2, 3-under and playing well. You don't want to feel like you're playing well and even-par.

Q. 15 was playing headwind or --

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yes, yes.

Q. And you had a birdie there?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Still, yeah. I hit a good drive. I must have caught a good gust because I got it way down there. I only had 235 hole, and I have a 9-wood in the bag. It's actually more like an 8-wood. It's 23 1/2 degrees, which is so nice for that particular hole especially, and I hit it right in the middle of the green.

Again, it got like 2 inches into -- the fringe is like that, and it got 2 inches into the fairway. I had to put it down there. If it just comes off the fringe, I have 25 feet for eagle.

That hole is so scary still. I've never done well laying up there. Hopefully I can keep going for it. It's a great hole, though.

Q. That said, I must ask you about 18. I haven't seen, but they said ask him about 18.

SAHITH THEEGALA: I've had a great -- I've hit the fairway 6 out of 6 times coming into today. And I just toed it a little bit today. Still I thought it would be fine. It landed in the fairway, kicked left. It went into -- we could see it go into the magnolia. I didn't know that one magnolia is all the way to the ground.

So my ball was wedged in between two branches, like two yards off the fairway. I'm looking at the fairway there. I didn't know if I could play it or not.

The reason I played it was two club lengths would have gotten me back into the fairway, but I wouldn't have had a backswing. The tree would have still been affecting my backswing, and I couldn't take it further back because then I'd be in the pinestraw behind all the trees still.

I was like, all right, I'm not protecting any lead or anything. So I tried to hit it, and it came out nice. It just got out of the tree and trickled into the rough. Probably advanced it eight or nine yards. I was hoping I could do -- even if I got five yards, I would have had a shot. It still didn't reach the fairway. I had 200 yards and hit my best shot of the day, hit it to like 6 feet just left of the hole. It was nice to make that last putt.

Q. How is it playing with Phil given his legendary status especially over here?

SAHITH THEEGALA: It's incredible. It's amazing how good he still is. He made a triple on 3, and then the rest of the day played so, so good. It didn't really make any putts and shot 1-under the rest of the way in and only one bogey.

Q. Just like you did yesterday?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Exactly. Tripled 3 and then shot 1-under the rest of the way. He made it look easy. We shot the same score, and it just felt like he was playing better than me all day and he's double my age.

It's really cool. He's always been really nice to me. I played my first PGA TOUR event ever paired with Phil in 2016 for 36 holes. He still remembers me. Cameron is his childhood friend. They keep in touch. Phil was talking about how great Camo is and how good it's been.

It's been awesome talking with him. He always has stories to tell. We might play again tomorrow. We shot the same score and finished at the same time. So we'll see.

He's awesome. Don't take it for granted playing with one of the best players to play the game ever.

Q. They say this course is laid out very well for lefties. Playing with Phil especially, can you see that?

SAHITH THEEGALA: A hundred percent I can see that because there's a ton of holes where he hits this little bleeder cut. Some of the par-3s too, like -- the only par-3 where I think as a lefty it's tough is 16. That's definitely made for a righty who hits a draw. As a lefty, that's just a really tough hole.

But 12 is so nice for him. Today he aimed at that bunker and peels a cut. If he overcuts it like he did today, he's pin high left. If he pulls it, he carries the bunker onto the green. I'm sitting there like feeling I have to have the perfect shot into this little sliver.

Even on holes like 10, he's hitting a cut off the tee. 13, he's hitting a cut off the tee. Even 14, he's hitting it like -- it's so nice. I wish I could do that. 14 I keep trying to cut it off the trees and keep hitting the trees and keep making bogeys. I should try something different.

It was cool to see because I haven't played with a lefty out here.

Q. One last question. You have got one record now in your name in the first three days, the longest streak of bogey-free golf, 23 holes.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Really? I didn't even think about it. That's awesome.

Q. When you're on a streak like that, do you miss not making birdies? You have just had two birdies in that stretch actually.

SAHITH THEEGALA: It's funny. I've always been someone who hates bogeys. I hate bogeys more than I love birdies. I don't usually never have an issue making birdies. Usually it's the bogeys I hate. Usually keeping away the bogeys that I have the issue with. So to go 23 holes, I didn't even realize, but that's really impressive considering I'm not firing on all cylinders.

My short putting has been great. I haven't really missed any short putts. My chipping feels good. I just keep hitting it in tough spots to make birdies. I've been scrambling for par a lot. That's cool. I didn't realize it was 23. That's nice.

Q. Yeah, especially given how the conditions have been.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, I really feel like I'm playing the hard holes on the front well, like 4, 5, even 6 is just a tricky par-3.

And then 1 I've parred all three days, which anybody in the field would take. Just got to take advantage.

I've played the par-5s horribly. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm probably even-par on the par-5s, which is not good out here because they're all very, very scorable.

Q. The par-5s are so difficult. They've been tricky.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Well, 13 was tough. That pin on 13 is brutal.

And then 15, that's like the only easy pin on 15, and it still was scary. Like you still don't want to spin it off the slope and go into the water.

15 is definitely the scariest of the three. I think the other three you're always looking for birdie. With the exception of that one pin on 13. Birdie feels like a bonus.

Yeah, hopefully I can just -- I want to make an eagle. I want one of those glasses. I had a good eagle chance today on 8. I was just right on the green. Hit a 30-foot chip shot, hit a bad chip. It was close.

Q. Knowing the course is getting baked in the sun and all the information you have, can you look into tomorrow and think about what you might want to do and how you want to approach the round?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, I feel like this has been the easiest day of the three so far. It is firming up. They're still a little receptive to where you can hit it in the spots. I know it's going to bake out the next few hours and the back nine is going to play tough.

Plenty of birdie holes. I'm sure the leaders are going to kind of separate themselves from the pack a little bit. I didn't even see -- I think someone shot 3 or 4-under earlier today. I wouldn't be surprised if someone shot 4 or 5-under in the afternoon. That's really good playing.

If I go and do that tomorrow, I could still have a nice finish and be happy about the week and go from there. Yeah, I think I still have a good chance to get a top 20 or top 25 or something like that. It will probably be around even-par or 1 or 2-over. It's nice knowing that's still in the cards.