Playing in world golf’s most lucrative event, Sahith Theegala knew his careless error in the Tour Championship was likely to cost himself millions.
And yet, the American knew the right thing to do was to blow the whistle on himself during the third round when he realised he made contact with the sand during his backswing.
The moment came on the par-four third hole when Theegala was picking his way out of a fairway bunker at East Lake — only to make the unfortunate error in the split second before completing his shot.
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The infringement was so small that no one noticed — that is except for Theegala who self-reported it to officials.
The penalty? Two shots, which landed him with a double bogey.
The end result after four rounds? Theegala finished two shots adrift of second-place finisher Collin Morikawa.
Had Theegala not brushed the sand illegally — or had he simply not self-reported — he would’ve finished in a tie for second, worth $10m (A$14.75m).
In the end, Theegala settled for third. It still pocketed him a whopping $7.5m (A$11m), though the way in which he lost an additional A$3.75m will sting.
The sacrifice, however, has only endeared the already-popular golfer to fans further, with the star celebrated for upholding the game’s values of sportsmanship and honesty.
It also painted golf villain Patrick Reed in an even worse light, with fans reminded of a similar incident involving the LIV defector which had a very different outcome.
In 2019, Reed drew the ire of the golfing world when he was penalised two strokes in the Bahamas for also illegally moving sand behind his ball.
The key differences to Theegala are in that Reed moved the sand during practice swings — not his actual stroke — nor did he self-report it.
The infringement was blatant enough that it was spotted by others, and the American was penalised.
Some fans were quick to point out how Theegala had shown Reed the way five years on.
Speaking about the incident after play, Theegala explained that “your intuition as a golfer is very rarely wrong.”
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” he said.
“I was describing the situation — no matter what the outcome was, I needed to know what the actual rule was. Even though me and Xander (Schauffele) thought it’s just whatever, it’s fine, you touched a grain of sand, didn’t mean to move it, you’re good.
“I decided to call the rules official right away on that green. But either way, I would have asked the rules officials after the round, too, or somehow found out what the rule was, and if I didn’t ask a rules official and I went back home and looked up the rule — it was sitting in my mind.”