Sahith Theegala’s Bizarre Lost Ball: Weirdest Penalty at the PGA Championship
Jul 27, 2024; Blaine, Minnesota, USA; Sahith Theegala reacts to his tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the 3M Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2024; Blaine, Minnesota, USA; Sahith Theegala reacts to his tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the 3M Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Sahith Theegala's weirdest penalty at the PGA Championship came after his ball vanished mid-flight, and nobody on the course saw where it went.
Theegala was three under and two shots off the lead Friday afternoon at Aronimink Golf Club. He hit his approach from a fairway bunker on the par-4 10th hole. The ball clipped a tree, hooked left, and then it disappeared.
Three minutes of searching by Theegala, his caddie Carl Smith, volunteers, and thousands of spectators turned up nothing.
ESPN's on-course reporter John McGuiness described it as it unfolded. "The search is still ongoing, but I think we're almost out of time," McGuiness said. "It clipped a branch of that tree just in front of him, and we've all been looking for quite some time now."
May 15, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Sahith Theegala putts on the sixth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
May 15, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Sahith Theegala putts on the sixth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Time ran out, and under Rule 18.2, three minutes is the limit. Theegala walked back to the bunker, took a one-shot penalty, and replayed the shot under stroke-and-distance rules.
He missed the green with his fourth shot. His fifth left a 16-footer for double bogey. It slid past the hole. Triple bogey dropped him from three under to even par.
"We have no idea where it went," McGuiness said.
The delay slowed down the groups playing behind Sahith Theegala. Cameras showed Rory McIlroy leaning against an advertising board while waiting for the hole to open up.
Sahith Theegala finished the day at three over par. He is now five shots behind the leaders, Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy, who are both at four under par. Theegala is tied for 30th place.
Sahith Theegala gets penalty a day after another big rules drama at Aronimink Golf Club
Friday's ruling wasn't the week's first. On Thursday, Garrick Higgo arrived at his tee time just over a minute late. He was handed a two-stroke penalty on the spot and missed the cut by one shot.
Justin Thomas had his group placed on the clock Friday for slow play, alongside Keegan Bradley and Cameron Young.
"I didn't really agree with it," Thomas said.
Sahith Theegala's situation was different from the others. At the professional level, lost balls rarely happen. There are spotters on every hole to help find balls, and players usually hit their shots accurately, so finding the ball is rarely a problem.
On Friday, everything changed for Sahith Theegala on the 10th hole when his shot hit a tree branch. He had to take a penalty and play the shot again. After that, he finished the hole with a triple bogey and went into the weekend five shots behind the leaders.
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Written by
Sneha Abraham
Edited by
Suyashdeep Sason