Sahith Theegala has called for Shinnecock Hills to be at its brutal best on Sunday for the final round of the US Open.
Theegala is tied for second heading into the last round in New York. The American made just one bogey and one birdie on his way to carding a score of 70 on Saturday.
In truth, he is one of several players who need a miracle on the final day at the US Open. Wyndham Clark finds himself six shots clear of anyone else, and appears to have one hand on his second major title.
Sahith Theegala praises the USGA after the third round of the US Open
The chasing pack are going to need a big helping hand from Clark if they are going to stand any chance of catching the 32-year-old over the final 18 holes.
There has been plenty of debate over Shinnecock Hills over the course of the week. At times, the course has made a number of the world’s best players look incredibly silly.
The wind was a lot calmer on Saturday afternoon. And speaking after his third round, Theegala heaped praise on the USGA for how they have managed the course.
He also called for the conditions that he wants to see on Sunday.
“Yeah, it was awesome today. I think this was probably how the viewers and all golf fans want to see the course play. It still wasn’t crazy firm out there. It was still soft enough to where pins are accessible, and you weren’t worried about one-hopping too many balls over the green,” he said.
“But it put a lot more emphasis on the strike of your approach shot. I think that’s something that’s pretty underrated. The fairways are pretty dry now, and the lies are a lot thinner, so you catch some of these iron shots a groove or two low on the face. They come out a little bit lower with a little bit less spin, so that first bounce gets really big. It got progressively firmer as the round went on.
“The first five, six, seven greens were pretty soft still, and then I don’t know what happened, but it just got a lot firmer.
“But, again, I think they could go even firmer tomorrow. It wouldn’t be an issue. Yeah, made the course play definitely a lot tougher, I think.
“In some ways, it was nice to not worry about the spin, so it made hitting to the middle of the greens a lot easier, I thought, because the into-the-wind wedge shots you have, you have quite a few of those out here, I wasn’t worried about ripping it off the false edges. It was more like, okay, can I put enough spin to not get it going down the other side of the green?
“So in a weird way, it made it a little easier on those shots, but yeah, I can’t wait to see what the conditions are going to be like tomorrow. Honestly I hope they just bake this place out, especially with the wind forecast tomorrow is not very high. I’m excited to see how it goes.”
Why Sahith Theegala desperately needs a strong finish at Shinnecock Hills
It has been a long road for Theegala. He was alongside Clark on the US team at the 2024 Presidents Cup. At the time, it appeared that he was destined for a very bright future.
He had also performed superbly at that year’s Tour Championship.
Unfortunately, the 2025 season was a disappointment, with injury hampering his year. Thankfully, Theegala has reminded everyone of his quality this week.
The 28-year-old is looking for only his second top 10 in the major championships. He has put himself in a fantastic position to make that happen this week.
And if Clark does stumble, there is still an outside chance of someone snatching the trophy from his grasp.
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