Sahith Theegala is one of the PGA Tour's rising stars, having turned professional in 2020 after a glittering college career.
Get to know the American better with these 20 facts about his life and career...
Sahith Theegala facts:
1. Theegala was born in Orange, California, on December 4th 1997.
2. He is of Indian heritage. “I’m definitely proud of my Indian heritage and I hope I’m inspiring other Indian Americans and people in India to know they can compete in sports,” he told Global Indian.
3. He now lives in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston.
4. He graduated from Diamond Bar High School in California, which is the same school that produced Kevin Na. Other notable alums from the school include Major League Baseball's Jim Edmonds, football's Alex Morgan and the NBA's Keith Van Horn.
5. Theegala went to Pepperdine University in California where he studied Sports Administration. He graduated in 2020 and also turned professional in the same year.
6. Whilst at Pepperdine, Theegala was named as a three-time All American and won the 2020 Haskins Award and the Ben Hogan Award in the same year. The Haskins Award is presented annually by the Haskins Commission to honor the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States, and the Ben Hogan Award is an annual prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America, since 1990, to the best college golf player in the United States.
7. His dream fourball would be Tiger Woods, his coach Michael Beard from Pepperdine, and his Dad, who doesn't know how to play golf but taught the game to Sahith.
8. One of his hobbies away from the golf course is chess.
9. He acknowledges his father as the reason he got into golf. "He put everything that he could into me. My mom, too, sacrificed so much for me, but my dad’s definitely the reason I’m playing professional golf today," he told the PGA Tour.
10. The people he would most like to meet in sport include Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He also wanted to meet Kobe Bryant before his death in 2020. Speaking in a Q&A he said: "I’ve never gotten to meet Kobe and unfortunately, I never will, but he was definitely on top of my list. He was my sports idol growing up, so that would definitely be the one."
11. He cites Riviera, Martis Camp and Alotian Club as three of his favourite golf courses. As far as courses he wanted to play, the two that stand out are the Old Course at St Andrews, and Royal Melbourne. He got to play St Andrews at the 150th Open.
12. He made his PGA Tour debut at the 2017 Genesis Open where he finished in a tie for 49th. He was 19 at the time and didn't turn pro for another three years.
13. His Major debut also came in 2017 at the age of 19 after he qualified for the US Open at Erin Hills via the Newport Beach sectional qualifier.
14. Theegala in the past has acknowledged that he is more of a feel type of player and has never been into the mechanics as much as other players. 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.
15. He finished 3rd in his professional debut at the Lone Tree Classic on the Outlaw Tour.
16. His maiden win on the PGA Tour was an unofficial one, coming at the QBE Shootout doubles event with Tom Hoge in December 2022.
17. In September 2023, he claimed his first official PGA Tour title, when he claimed a two stroke victory at the Fortinet Championship
18. He led the PGA Tour in birdies made for the 2021-22 season with a total of 433.
19. His career-low round on the PGA Tour is a 62, which came at the 2022 American Express.
20. He finished T9th in his Masters debut in 2023, which is his best Major finish.
