Good bounces offset bad ones.
At least that’s the hope in golf. And Sahith Theegala put it to the absolute test during his 5-under 67 opening round at the 2026 Players Championship.
Theegala endured his bad bounce at 11th hole when his drive nudged just against the fairway sod and into the pine needles leaving an impossible lie.
From there, he was only able to advance 121 yards. He made par on the hole that was playing the fourth easiest on Day 1.
The bounces went to favor Theegala’s way just a hole later. From 99 yards in the fairway on 12, his wedge shot bounced off a mound and raced into the hole for an unlikely eagle.
“That pin is on that little shelf, so usually it’s just a stock lob wedge, but I hit a little 54 degree to try and just one-hop it up the slope there, and I blocked it a hair,” Theegala said. “I hit it a little skinny and just came out a little right. Got a nice bounce.
“It was probably going to spin left off that slope, was probably going to go like 20, 25 feet down that slope, just straight left of the hole,” he added. “So for it to crash into the pin and go in is pretty cool. It’s a nice bonus.”
Theegala added a birdie at the par-5 on 16 on his way to a closing 67 and a share of the first-round lead with Sepp Straka, Maverick McNealy and Lee Hodges.
Austin Smotherman had a 67 going through the first 17 holes at TPC Sawgrass but couldn’t finish due to darkness. He’s set to finish the round at 8:50 a.m. ET Friday.
Theegala’s second round tee time with Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler at 8:40 a.m. will not be impacted by weather conditions.