Q. You said the 10th hole is kind of a turning point. Why would you say that and what clicked after that?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, so I typically hit a left-to-right shot off the tee, but I've been working on this little squeeze draw for the last three months that I've been hitting really well off the tee. So I tried to hit that one there and just toed it. And it might have carried 190, honestly. I had like 245 hole from the left rough on a down slope. And I was like, if I could get away with a 4 here I can attack the rest of the back nine.
I hit a great recovery shot just to hit it short left of the green there and I caught a nice lie in the rough there. So to make 4 there and kind of know that I have many so birdie holes coming in was big.
Q. How well do you know Xander? Looks like you guys might be in a battle tomorrow.
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, Xander is the man. I don't know him too well, but he's been so nice to me and a guy that I've definitely kind of looked up to the last few years, kind of watching him play. His demeanor is the best. Like watching him play out there and have fun with him, it's awesome. So it looks like they're one ahead of me there, but that would be awesome if I played with him or even Pat.
Q. Are you going to feel like you're going to be nervous tomorrow, excited.
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, oh, yeah. I'm definitely going to be nervous, definitely going to be excited. It's so nice having prior experience kind of being near the top. So I know exactly what to expect. And every single week I'm out here I feel like I'm getting more and more comfortable. So I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
Q. What have you learned from those experiences that you talked about?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, there's just for me like it's a lot of it is just keeping my body calm. The first couple times I just my heart rate was racing so fast, just everything was moving a thousand miles per hour. But even the last time -- honestly last time I was in contention was Waste and Carl did a great job, kind of settling me down and going through our process.
So I know it's not the same situation because I won't be in the lead, but, yeah, just kind of sticking to the process and just going through everything like it was just another day out here. Because it comes down to just playing golf and weekend golf is always a privilege. So I'm just going to enjoy it.
Q. You talked about playing here in 2020 and shooting even par for two days. What do you feel like you gained from then to now, how your game has improved from when you were getting out of college to now where you're in contention a lot here on the PGA TOUR?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Obviously I had a really, really good year my senior year at Pepperdine. That was where I felt like, okay, I can actually do this pro golf thing. But I honestly didn't play too bad to shoot even par for two rounds, I might have missed the cut by two or three and I was like, okay, this is how it is.
I made my next stop in Detroit and I shot 2-under there and missed the cut by two and I'm like, wow, I feel like I'm not playing too bad.
But it's really cool to see the progression. I was texting my coach Michael Beard about it just to see how far I've come since he caddied for me here. I feel like my game is at a totally new level. Which just is a testament to all the work that me and my close team have put in. Like I'm seeing the progression and it's cool. Hopefully I don't ever look back at that.
Q. The close call in February at Waste Management, you got the bad bounce on 17, you were right in the thick of it. You obviously want to get back there as soon as you can and get back in that situation, but it's not that easy, you got to do the work. What's that been like from then to now trying to get back into that situation?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, it's been an interesting situation. Because obviously now I have the confidence in my own game, but I totally -- I'm not fooling myself and I'm not going to have this opportunity to win that often yet. I'm making great progression to hopefully put myself in more positions like this, but I know I'm not a Rory or Xander quite yet.
But yeah, I've just stayed patient the whole year and try to stick to that mantra of getting a little bit better, no matter what that is. Even if the scores don't reflect it, just feeling better about myself and moving forward. But, yeah, I've plead a lot of good golf since then too.
I've made a ton of cuts, probably why I played the most rounds. I've had some tough weekends, but I made a ton of cuts which shows that even on a bad week I can kind of scrape it around and potentially put together a really good week.
So and then, honestly, Memorial might have been my best tournament of the year. I played so good there. And that was a, I would imagine as close to as what a major feels like on the weekend there. It was so crusty and played so tough. That was a really, really good week. Just weeks like that feel like I've really been progression.
Q. You've mentioned Nathan giving you the opportunity to play here in 2020. What would it mean to you to now get a win here after that?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Oh, it would mean the world, obviously. To say that this was my PGA TOUR professional debut and then to come back here two years later and kind of earn my way into the tournament instead of needing a spot, it would mean a lot. This already holds a special place to me, no matter what happens tomorrow. It's my first start and, yeah, that's never going to change.
Q. I don't know if you're a big karma guy or not, but 17 people have gotten their first TOUR win at this tournament. So do you think about that at all going into tomorrow?
SAHITH THEEGALA: No. Not at all. Just going to be another Sunday on the PGA TOUR. Can't take that for granted at all. This is what it's all about. I can't wait to play.
Q. Is your brother here this week?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah my brother, he goes to school at Seton Hall in New Jersey, him and my cousin Pavin both drove up yesterday. Kind of surprised me. I knew they were coming, but I didn't know they were coming yesterday. So it was cool having them. We had dinner yesterday, going to have dinner again today.
Q. What's your cousin's name?
SAHITH THEEGALA: Pavin. P A V I N.
Q. But your parents are back on West Coast?
SAHITH THEEGALA: My parents, honestly, haven't watched in a while. I'm sure they're itching to come out to an event soon. I think they're coming out to the first FedEx event.
Q. They're not coming out and a red eye?
SAHITH THEEGALA: No.
Q. Your brother told me he came out on a red eye to Phoenix to see you.
SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, that was wild. I did not expect him to him to do that because it was finals or mid terms, something. He had tests. And I'm like, You're crazy dude. It's nice to just have a chiller setting both of them.
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