Sahith Theegala
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| Sahith Theegala | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Theegala in December 2022 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Full name | Sahith Reddy Theegala | ||||||
| Born | December 4, 1997 Orange, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||
| Residence | Houston, Texas | ||||||
| Career | |||||||
| College | Pepperdine University[1] | ||||||
| Turned professional | 2020 | ||||||
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||||||
| Professional wins | 2 | ||||||
| Highest ranking | 14 (March 17, 2024)[2] (as of April 14, 2024) | ||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||
| PGA Tour | 1 | ||||||
| Other | 1 | ||||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||||
| Masters Tournament | 9th: 2023 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T40: 2023 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T27: 2023 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T34: 2022 | ||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
Sahith Reddy Theegala (born December 4, 1997)[3] is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early life[edit]
Theegala was born in 1997 in Fullerton, California, to Muralidhar and Karuna Theegala and has a younger brother.[4] He is of Telugu descent; his family came to the United States from Telangana, India in the late 1980s.[5]
Amateur career[edit]
Theegala was a three-time NCAA All-American at Pepperdine University.[1][6] In his final year at Pepperdine, Theegala won the Southwestern Invitational,[3] the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, and the Australian Master of the Amateurs.[7] His collegiate career was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the 2020 season to end early, with his Pepperdine team ranked first in the nation.[8]
In 2020, Theegala won the Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Award, and the Jack Nicklaus Award, becoming just the fifth person ever to win all three awards in the same year.[9][10]
Professional career[edit]
Theegala made his professional debut in June 2020 at the Outlaw Tour's Lone Tree Classic, where he tied for third place.[6] He finished T-14 at the 2020 Safeway Open on the PGA Tour. He finished T-19 at his first Korn Ferry Tour event, the 2021 Chitimacha Louisiana Open. He finished T-9 at MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute.
Theegala also played a few PGA Tour events in 2020–21, mainly on sponsors' exemptions. He received enough points as a non-member to earn a place in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in 2021.[11] He then finished T-4 at Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship and 6th at Korn Ferry Tour Championship. With consecutive top-10 finishes in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Theegala secured his PGA Tour card for 2021–22 season. He got his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October 2021. He finished third at the WM Phoenix Open in February 2022. He finished seventh at the Valspar Championship in March 2022. In June 2022, Theegala tied for second in the Travelers Championship.[12] At the end of the 2021–22 season, Theegala made the Tour Championship by finishing in top 30.
Theegala opened his 2022–23 season with a top-10 finish at the Fortinet Championship in September 2022. He tied for second at the RSM Classic in November 2022, two shots behind winner Adam Svensson. He continued his season with a tied-for-sixth finish at the Genesis Invitational in February 2023.
On September 17, 2023, he earned his first official PGA Tour victory at the Fortinet Championship, finishing at −21 to secure a two-shot victory.[13]
Personal life[edit]
Theegala appeared in the sports documentary series Full Swing, which premiered on Netflix on February 15, 2023.[14]
Amateur wins[edit]
- 2010 Future Masters 1
- 2011 Junior All-Star at Robinson Ranch
- 2012 Presidents Boys Cup
- 2014 Los Angeles City Championship
- 2017 Southwestern Invitational, Sahalee Players Championship
- 2018 Waves Challenge
- 2019 SCGA Amateur Championship, Alister MacKenzie Invitational
- 2020 Australian Master of the Amateurs, Southwestern Invitational
Source:[15]
Professional wins (2)[edit]
PGA Tour wins (1)[edit]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 17, 2023 | Fortinet Championship | 68-64-67-68=267 | −21 | 2 strokes |  Kim Seong-hyeon |
Other wins (1)[edit]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 11, 2022 | QBE Shootout (with  Tom Hoge) | 60-60-62=182 | −34 | 1 stroke | Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer |
Results in major championships[edit]
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 9 | T45 | ||||
| PGA Championship | T40 | |||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T27 | ||||
| The Open Championship | NT | T34 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship[edit]
| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | 74 | T9 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships[edit]
| Tournament | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Match Play | T31 |
"T" = Tied
U.S. national team appearances[edit]
Amateur
- Arnold Palmer Cup: 2018 (winners)
Source:[15]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Sahith Theegala – Men's Golf". Pepperdine University Athletics. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ "Week 11 2024 Ending 17 Mar 2024" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Romine, Brentley (January 28, 2020). "'I did it for Mamba': Theegala wins Southwestern Invitational in Kobe jersey". Golf Channel.
- ^ Cyrgalis, Brett (July 2, 2020). "Golfer's Pro Journey Starts With a Burst Bubble". The New York Times.
- ^ "India heritage helps rookie Sahith Theegala find US PGA success". The Times of India. AFP. October 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "Pepperdine Senior Theegala Wins Ben Hogan Award". The New York Times. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (June 9, 2020). "Sahith Theegala adds to accomplishments, wins Ben Hogan Award". Golf Channel. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ Conover, Brayden (May 15, 2020). "After long road to recovery, Theegala goes out on top". AmateurGolf.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ Herrington, Ryan. "Pepperdine's Sahith Theegala grabs another one of college golf's top honors, winning the Ben Hogan Award". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (July 8, 2020). "Sahith Theegala joins exclusive company after winning Jack Nicklaus Award". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ Parker, Nick (September 24, 2021). "Sahith Theegala's unique path to qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ Berhow, Josh (June 26, 2022). "Xander Schauffele wins Travelers Championship after Sahith Theegala's heartbreaking finish". Golf.com.
- ^ Wagaman, Michael (September 17, 2023). "Sahith Theegala wins the Fortinet Championship in Napa for his first PGA Tour victory". Associated Press News. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Tee Up for 'Full Swing,' the Golf Documentary Series That Drives Plenty of Drama". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "Sahith Theegala". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
External links[edit]
- Sahith Theegala at the PGA Tour official site
- Sahith Theegala at the Official World Golf Ranking official site