American professional golfer Sahith Theegala missed his first six greens on Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open. He still managed to shoot the best score of his morning, enough to lead the field.

Theegala fired a six-under 64 during the morning wave at TPC Toronto to take the first-round clubhouse lead at the $9.8 million event. Speaking during the post-round press conference on June 11, Theegala explained what got him through the opening holes.

"My short game really bailed me out at the start there. Obviously holing it on 10, and then having it stay out of the water, really on the first two holes," he said. "Once I got settled down after five or six holes started hitting it really well and it was relatively stress-free."

Results over the past couple of months had not been where he wanted them. The 64 was two strokes better than any of his first-round scores across 17 previous starts, excluding the Zurich Classic team event. 

Theegala said the game had been close regardless.

"You just got to stay positive, can't get too down on yourself. I'm making a lot of cuts, which is great," he said during the presser.

Theegala is an RBC ambassador and has played this tournament every year. He noted that the tournament carries extra weight.

"There's just something a little more about a National Open," he said. "You can feel that, for sure."

Rainfall around 10 a.m. local time caused the North Course to soften on Thursday. Defending champion Ryan Fox shot a four-under 66 to sit in a tie for 15th. Nick Taylor, who won the event in 2023, was three under.

Theegala finished round 1 tied for first among five other golfers.

Sahith Theegala Round One Breakdown at TPC Toronto

Theegala shot a 64 on a course that he said was more difficult than it looked. Even though the scorecard may not show it, he felt the course had several tricky challenges. 

He pointed to the crosswind as the main test.

"You're pretty secluded in these trees. The wind's pumping up there, but you can't really feel it. So the ball gets up and all of a sudden the crosswind really takes it," he said. "It's easy to hit some foul balls out here."

The greens added to the challenge, he stated.

After his round, Theegala headed inside to recover. His afternoon routine involves watching some coverage, playing chess or games on his iPad, and getting dinner.

"It's just a way to get my competitive outlet off of the golf course without any risk of injury," he said.

Five players ended the first round with the same score as Theegala at six-under-par. He will start Friday's second round tied for the lead at TPC Toronto. Emiliano Grillo, Eric Cole, Brooks Koepka, Sam Burns, and Matthew Anderson are also at six-under, making it a six-way tie for first place.

Do you think Sahith Theegala can hold on and win the 2026 RBC Canadian Open? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Surjo Ray