RBC HERITAGE

April 20, 2024

Sahith Theegala

Harbour Town Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize the day today?

SAHITH THEEGALA: It was really weird. I felt like I played well, but I parred all the par-5s, which just walking off every one of them is just such a bad taste in your mouth. But other than the par-5s, I really played great. I had decent looks on all the 5s, too, just didn't capitalize. It just feels like the way the course is set up right now, it's hard to -- I was going to say it's hard to go really low, but Scottie shot 8 or 9 or whatever he did. He doesn't count. But it's hard to go really low.

It seems like you have a bunch of 10- to 25-footers for birdie all day, so you've just got to stay patient. Stayed patient, got a nice bounce on 9, getting over that bunker and having a kick-in birdie versus having to grind for an up-and-down. Settled me down a little bit. Had a lazy three-putt on 12, but other than that, just played pretty disciplined and played well.

Q. At this point when you see Scottie's name creeping up that leaderboard, what are you thinking?

SAHITH THEEGALA: It's pretty epic. I was talking to Carl, my caddie, walking to 15 tee box. I was like, I grew up watching the end of Tiger, got to see Rory, DJ, Jordan, like all these guys kind of dominate for a period of time, and I was like, we could be in the midst of something really, really special, and I just thought it was cool.

Played behind him every day so far. He'll be behind me tomorrow. I just think it's cool. It's got to be annoying for some of the guys, but I love it. I still think I have a way to go to really prove myself that I am, I would say, a top-15, -10 player in the world. I haven't gotten to that point quite yet. I'm not annoyed, I'm just kind of sitting back, and it's honestly really cool to see. It's really cool to see.

It gives us something to strive for.

Q. I was going to say, does it feel like it motivates?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, obviously when a lot of us get out here, we're doing our own thing and have our own way of playing and trying to get through the course the less shots as possible and not necessarily comparing with the guys up top, but thinking about it, kind of making a game plan, it's cool to see where the separation is, and he's pretty much better than everybody and everything. He's gotten the putter figured out, and he's always been a great putter, so it was just a matter of time.

Again, you don't want to compare because it's not even possible to do what he's doing really, but it's just cool that you have benchmarks and you can put in the work, and there's a ton of room for improvement for all of us, which is great to see.

Q. Do you remember the first time you played with him or saw him or remember seeing him?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, I played with him in a tournament in Waco, Texas, call the Starburst. I can't remember if there was a third in our group, but my dad and Scottie's dad were both caddying for us, and he probably beat me by like eight or nine.

It's funny because Scottie was pretty self-deprecating about his round, and then Scott, his dad, was kind of making fun of him. It was really funny. Ever since then -- he's a year ahead of me in school and played with him most of my life. Actually didn't play in the same group as him much, but just playing a lot of tournaments with him. I don't actually know if I beat him in any junior or college tournaments. At least I've beat him in a pro event before. I've got that.

But yeah, I've played with him my whole life. He's been a great player the whole time, and he's been a great dude the whole time, too. He doesn't have to go talk to me, for instance, and he's always been super nice. Couldn't be a better World No. 1, I think.

Q. As you look to try to track him down, how do you mentally think about that and pursue that?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, I think kind of like I said, once I tee it up on the first tee, you don't really even think about who you're going up against to a certain degree. You already know what you're going up against when you tee off, so when you're out there it's just trying to hit the best shot on every shot and trying to play each hole how it's meant to be played. At least for me, I feel like it's pretty easy when I get on the course. I don't really think about the guys in front of me on the leaderboard or anything. I just want to do my job, and if I happen to be in contention come the last few holes on the back nine, that's when I try and step it up and ramp it up.

Yeah, just going to stick to my thing.