Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia both coming in with matching 3-under 67 rounds is not some small thing ah,especially when leaderboard at Colonial Country Club is packed so tightly.
Both Indian-American golfers finished tied for 32nd position,just three strokes behind leading group . On paper that may look like middle of board,but in tournament like this,three shots is really not huge gap.
Theegala’s round felt especially encouraging because he has already dealt with injury setbacks earlier in season . Starting on front nine,he avoided bogeys for first 14 holes,which shows he was not just surviving round,he was actually looking settled .
He picked up birdies on first,sixth,and 11th holes,then had one small slip with bogey on 15th . But then he came back with birdie on final hole to close at 67 . That kind of finish matters mentally also .
Few things standing out clearly from opening round:
- Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia both shot matching rounds of 3-under 67.
- J.J . Spaun led pack with flawless 64,while Ryan Gerard,Andrew Putnam,Tom Kim,Matt McCarty,and Lee Hodges were also at 6-under 64 .
- Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju had tougher day,finishing with 1-over 71.
But Bhatia’s round was more up and down only . He had early trouble with bogeys on sixth and seventh holes,and for a moment it looked like round could slip away badly .
Then slowly he found rhythm again . Birdies on 11th and 15th holes helped him recover,and those back-to-back birdies on 17th and 18th gave his card a much better look by end. Tbh,that finishing burst says lot about his confidence.
And with Colonial Country Club playing like this,one clean stretch can move player up quickly,but one loose hole can push them back also . That is why Theegala staying bogey-free for first 14 holes feels like something positive to carry forward .
Now question is whether both can build from this start or whether crowded leaderboard makes it harder over weekend . Three strokes behind sounds close,but in golf,sometimes that gap feels small on Thursday and very big by Sunday…
