He was my sports idol growing up, so that would definitely be the one.". Throughout the 1980s and 90s, many members of the Theegala family made similar moves, establishing a base in southern California. While Matthew Stafford was winning the Super Bowl on Sunday, Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA Tour title. Sahith Theegala, his first round on Thursday suspended due to darkness, went back to the house, ordered Thai and watched basketball. Theegalas high school coach Ty Watkins said he would routinely shank a few before matches on the range. If you shoot 68 and lose, give credit to the other player. He then went on to play four seasons on the varsity golf team at Diamond Bar High School and was an All-Sierra League first-team selection all four years, also leading his team to a league title every year. Thirty-five years ago, Muralidhar made the most important step in the familys journey, when he immigrated to the United States from Hyderabad, India. He was the San Gabriel Valley Tribunes Area Player of the Year as a junior after winning the Hacienda League title and reaching the CIF state tournament. @CudaChamp. Theegala opened his 2022-23 season with a top-10 finish at the Fortinet Championship in September 2022. Theegalas unique swing is completely built on feel and athleticism, and his signature head move on the downswing isnt completely on purpose. Junior Amateur Championships and reached the Round of 16 in 2014. He faced a sandy lie with rocks all around the ball, on a downslope, pitching to an elevated green with a back-right hole location. Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and Phoenix Rising FC. To wit: On Friday night, the Theegalas went out for a sushi dinner in Scottsdale. How do LIV Golfs TV ratings really compare to the PGA Tour? Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Im like, Oh my god, are you kidding me? And his caddies cracking up. Now we are going to about Sahith Theegalas net worth. An unlucky bounce sent his tee shot into the water and the resulting bogey cost him a spot in Sundays playoff. ", 10. Other notable alums from the school include Major League Baseball's Jim Edmonds, football's Alex Morgan and the NBA's Keith Van Horn. ), 2 pre-round warm-up exercises Sahith Theegala does before every round, Sahith Theegala finally added this common club to his Ping setup, 3 things to know after Saturday at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Nicklaus Award winner Sahith Theegala taking 'Mamba mentality' to the pro ranks. Everyone raves about Theegalas short game and iron play, but his demeanor on the course is an equal weapon, according to those close to him. Theegala, though, never wavered. (Theegala continued needing fashion help throughout his college career.) 4. Sahith Theegala is an escape artist. Theegala, 22, who is Indian-American, now faces the biggest challenge of any amateurs path, turning pro, as one of the smattering of nonwhite players in a traditionally conservative sport. Hes very comfortable with who he is.. He holds American nationality. The key for Theegala will be keeping the ball in the fairway. PGA Tour rookie Carson Young, seeking his first win, posted a 5-under 67 on Friday and built a 4-shot lead going into the weekend at the Puerto Rico Open. I dont want to sound cocky or anything, but Im playing to win, Theegala said. He moved up in age groups, holding his own against future PGA Tour pros like Xander Schauffele and Beau Hossler. Alongside the 13th fairway, a pair of fans came up to take a selfie with Muralidhar the first time in his life thats ever happened. It just so happened that I had a one-shot lead. Theegala made one final start in 2020, missing the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Sahith Theegala has started his career at an early age, at Pepperdine University and was named three-time NCAA All-American. Theegala balances his connection to India with a Southern California nonchalance: Hes warm and gentle, if not downright goofy at times. 6. Hes made five more starts on the KFT since then and has made the cut in each, his best finish a tie for ninth at the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute. Other notable alums from the school include Major League Baseballs Jim Edmonds, soccers Alex Morgan and the NBAs Keith Van Horn. If we talked about his zodiac sign then because of taking birth on December 4. Its not like Im just playing to make the cut or anything like that. But if he drives it well and is in the fairway, hes probably gonna be on the first page of the leaderboard.. POINTS His ability to score is just such a unique quality, Cootes said. Hes genuine, and it shows how he carries himself. For his dad, Murli, it came when his boy won the Junior Worlds at age 6 playing cross-handed a tidbit he hadnt even noticed previously until a spectator mentioned it to him. Even if his form wasnt textbook after all, he learned the game through trial-and-error at local public courses Theegala succeeded. The two sports we watched were golf and basketball, and Ive been a Lakers fan since I can remember. He just doesnt know when. This weekend, theyll be playing in front of fans who are maybe best described this way: Talor Gooch was asked Friday the best costume hes seen at TPC Scottsdale. Ranking all 30 Tour Championship players, Berger out of the Open, replaced by Theegala, Theegala rallies to hold onto Phoenix Open lead, Theegala leads Koepka, Schauffele in Phoenix, Rookie Theegala's 67 good for 1-shot Miss. He dropped for a penalty stroke, chipped to within 14 feet but missed that putt for par, settling for a bogey. That the fans mispronounced Theegalas name didnt particularly matter. But make no mistake about it. J. Vegas Full Leaderboard ESPN Sahith Theegala United States Birthdate 12/4/1997 (25) Birthplace Orange, California College. Odom competed in the Collegiate Showcase at The Riviera Country Club on Monday, February 13 with the opportunity to earn the final . Theegala was born in Fullerton, Calif., eight months after Woods won his first professional major championship at the 1997 Masters, and moved to Chino Hills outside of Los Angeles when he was about 2 years old. After a par on the 13th hole, Theegala was back at it on the 14th hole. But know that not every dude can step up to an 18th green with a one-shot lead, toss a jersey over his head and win a tournament, days after your hero dies, minutes from where you live. In the same interview with the PGA Tour he said: "Its definitely my father. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Initially, Muralidhar planned to return to India after finishing his studies, but he fell in love with the U.S. Theegala was born in Orange, California, on December 4th 1997. In Orange, California, Sahith Theegala was born to Indian parents; his adored mother is Karuna Theegala, and his father is Muralidhar Theegala. 5. Theegala made par on 18 and settled for third place and a check for $434,600, which doubled his career earnings and gave him a new outlook entering the Genesis Invitational. ", 9. A Cali kid, the Lakers are his team. He credits his Indian heritage and his hard-working parents with helping him find success as a rookie on the US PGA Tour. Mamba himself might be proud of this answer. What happened in the wake of Sundays 17th-hole collapse, which knocked the 24-year-old Chino Hills resident into a three-way tie for third place, further endeared Theegala to those in attendance and watching on television. As a result he likes to feel his way around the golf course and move it both ways, in the same manner as Bubba Watson for example. Full-swing flop-shots from a foot off the chipping green made people fear for their safety. 13. Its his very first pro tournament and hes on the leaderboard, Hunter remembered, and I said after, How did you feel? And he looked at me strange and said, What do you mean? This actually isnt even Theegalas first U.S. Open appearance, although it is his first appearance in a major championship as a professional as hes only been getting paid to play golf for about a year, splitting his time between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. by Mastercard. However, he bounced back nicely with a very respectable T-32 finish at the Memorial, after which he traveled about an hour south to Springfield Country Club, where he won a 3-for-1 playoff to get into the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he struck the very first shot of the tournament on Thursday morning. Viktor Hovland aces the 7th hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Smith is still not sure if he does it to keep his body guessing, just for fun or a challenge or for a specific reason, but its a much more fun range session to watch than the robotic mix of lasers that he sees from the pros next to him. But he destroyed me, so he kind of got me back into chess, and that happened to be the year I injured my wrist too, so I wasnt able to play any sports, so I was sitting indoors all day just trying to get better at chess. Muralidhar, though, provided the necessary context. - Richard Bland Blasts PGA Tour Changes, These 2022 Golf Products Are About To Be ReplacedGrab A Bargain, Sergio Garcia Opens Up On 'Very Sad' McIlroy Fallout, I Tracked Every Shot Of Tiger Woods' Warm-Up, Rick Shiels' Ultimate 30 Minute Range Session, Ping, Unysis, RBC, Korn Ferry, UKG, Titleist, Zurich, FootJoy, Fall in love this February with a Golf Monthly subscription. Sahith is graduated from Pepperdine University and named three-time NCAA All-American. 4. He made his debut at the U.S. Open Tour 2021 of PGA at Torey Pines South Course. Hopefully there is some inspiration behind that, for people who watch me and realize that you dont have to be the stereotypical white golfer.. Immediately trailing him are a golf all-star team: Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. His best finish on the PGA Tour came at the 2022 Travelers Championship where he ended T2nd. Golfer Sahith Theegala has earned $2,735,027 in career earnings. Born in Orange, California, Sahith is the son of Karuna and Muralidhar Theegala. Theegala has scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, which has always forced him to make a different motion than his peers. Bath Sahith Theegalas Nationalityis American. Everyone around Theegala has their moment when they knew he was special, and the natural talent was unlike anything theyd seen before. And Riviera is one of my favorite golf courses, so nothing but good memories there. Ans. Sahith Theegala is an escape artist. When Smith took over Theegalas bag last fall, the thing that impressed him most about his game was the same that kept him coming back to recruit him for Pepperdine when he was an assistant: the ability to avoid bad rounds even when he didnt have his best stuff. Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! Smith remembers rooming with him for the first time at this years Korn Ferry Tour Finals, and he was curious regarding which show Theegala was watching so intently on his computer. In the big picture, that means Theegala wont get a two-year exemption to automatically retain his PGA Tour card. He made his debut at the U.S. Open Tour 2021 of PGA at Torey Pines South Course. 1. Inherently, golf frustrates kids as they struggle through its steep learning curve. When Watkins went to watch him at the Fortinet Championship this past fall, he learned quickly Theegalas still the same guy. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. It was an unusual visual at the end of a golf tournament, but not as unusual as what Theegala has often done before them. I was just really happy to do that, to pay my respects to the guy who Ive idolized pretty much for my whole career., Theegala, after Friday at the Phoenix, continues to lead after a scorching, eight-birdie, one-bogey 64, the days low round. Theegala grew up in a family that emphasized academics and was enthralled by American sports. If its a yard right, it shoots to the middle of the green. He also played at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and finished with the top 10, the Sanderson Farms Championship in October 2021, and got his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour. Sahith Theegala Parents & Nationality:-Sahith Theegala is an American professional golfer who plays in the PGA Tour. But when it was his time to tee off, the right-handed Theegala smashed a beautiful left-to-right fade in the narrow gap between a rock outcropping and a canyon. But when Beard first saw him, Theegala also shoved clubs into the wrong slots in his bag, wore socks pulled halfway up his calves and shirt slightly untucked. THEE-GAL-A! filled the desert course at TPC Scottsdale, where the former Diamond Bar High School and Pepperdine University star stood atop the leaderboard for most of the four-day event and seemed on the verge of his first PGA Tour win before disaster struck on the penultimate hole. Not a single par and four birdies to finish with. That was one of the best memories Ive ever had, Theegala said last weekend. I always believed that my boy is something special, Muralidhar Theegala said. To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript! Sahith Theegala is the son of Muralidhar Theegala (father) and Karuna Theegala (mother). In addition to competing for his high school team, Theegala also competed on the invitation-only Toyota Tour Cup, a highly prestigious tour in which junior golfers can hone their skills and compete against the top players in the region. But from the makeshift stands separating holes 16 and 17, the chant wasnt about Koepka or Schauffele. He diamond Bar won or shared the league title all four years and won CIF Southern Section titles in 2012 and 2013. Sahith Theegala United States Birthdate 12/4/1997 (25) Birthplace Orange, California College Pepperdine Swing Right Turned Pro 2020 Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard was summoned from the clubhouse to see what his young star was doing, and was shocked to see Theegala get to the first tee, take out a handful of irons and swing left-handed. I dont know if I should say a name, but there was a very good golfer that was a senior on the complete opposite end of the range, and Sahith was like, Im just going to shank one over to this guy to make him look back, and Im pretty sure he got his attention because it was kind of close., It was the name, Jon Rahm, yes, Cootes chuckled. and that started when he was just 7 as Rick Hunter tells it. Its his senior year at Pepperdine, and the Waves are practicing for a home tournament, when he and the rest of the basketball world came to a stop in late January of 2020. The ringleader of this group is unquestionably Muralidhar Theegala, Sahiths dad. lead, Theegala's 64 good for 1-shot lead in Mississippi, Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. With a front hole location, he had no chance of putting it, but it didnt matter. And after I made the second putt, obviously I gave a little tap to the jersey to pay my respects to Kobe. His sponsors include PING, FootJoy, Unisys Corporation, Linksoul and BURN180. He would also birdie the 18th hole on his way to . He made his debut at the Outlaw Tours Lone Tree Classic and achieved the third rank.