Sahith Theegala

Sahith Theegala's Early Life and Background

Born on December 4, 1997, Sahith Reddy Theegala is a professional golfer from the United States who competes on the PGA Tour. His parents, Muralidhar and Karuna Theegala, welcomed him into the world in Fullerton, California, in 1997. He is of Telugu origin, and his family moved to American soil from Telangana, India, in the latter part of the 1980s.

Sahith Theegala's Amateur Golf Career

Theegala attended Pepperdine University and was a three-time NCAA All-American. He won the Australian Master of the Amateurs, the Southwestern Invitational, and the Alister MacKenzie Invitational during his last year at Pepperdine University.

The COVID-19 pandemic ended his college career prematurely, even though his Pepperdine team was ranked #1 in the country at the time. He became the fifth individual in history to win all three accolades in a single year when he won the Haskins, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus awards in 2020.

Sahith Theegala's Professional Career

In the June 2020 Outlaw Tour event, the Lone Tree Classic, Theegala made his professional debut by tying for third place. At the 2020 Safeway Open on the PGA Tour, he placed T-14. He finished T-19 in the 2021 Chitimacha Louisiana Open, his first-ever Korn Ferry Tour competition. At the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute, he came in ninth place.

On sponsors' exemptions, Theegala participated in a few PGA Tour events in 2020–21. As a non-member, he earned enough points to qualify for the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals. After that, he placed sixth at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship and T-4 at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.

Theegala earned a spot on the PGA Tour for the 2021–2022 season with back-to-back top-10 results in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. In October 2021, he placed in the top 10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, his first PGA Tour finish.

At the WM Phoenix Open in February 2022, he finished third. In March 2022, he placed seventh at the Valspar Championship. In June 2022, Theegala finished T2 in the Travelers Championship. Theegala finished in the top 30 to win the Tour Championship at the end of the 2021–2022 season.

Theegala began the 2022–23 season in September 2022 by placing among the top 10 at the Fortinet Championship. In November 2022, he finished two strokes behind winner Adam Svensson in a tie for second place at the RSM Classic.

Theegala continued his season in February 2023, finishing tied for sixth at the Genesis Invitational. He won his first-ever PGA Tour event on September 17, 2023, at the Fortinet Championship. He finished at -21 to win by two shots.

Sahith Theegala's Playing Style

A rising star in the golf world, Sahith Theegala is a young, gifted player. He is renowned for his versatile style of play and is skilled in driving, iron play, and putting, among other areas of golf. Theegala has never been as interested in the mechanics as other gamers are, and he is more of a feel-good player.

That's why, like Bubba Watson, he prefers to feel his way around the golf course and move it both ways. His winning attitude and competitive spirit have been cited as important assets that have helped him succeed in amateur and professional tournaments.

Sahith Theegala's Caddie

Sahith Theegala’s caddie is Carl Smith. Smith has worked as a caddie since joining the PGA Tour in 2015. He claims that their conversations behind closed doors are rarely about golf.

Smith and Theegala have a laid-back relationship. "We talk about basketball all the time because I follow basketball and the Lakers a lot,” Smith stated in an interview with the PGA Tour in January 2022. "Last week, though, at Sony, he was really excited about Klay Thompson coming back to the Warriors with Steph (Curry) and Klay back together."

Their partnership had an intriguing beginning. It started when Smith, Pepperdine's assistant coach, brought Theegala on board. Even though Smith left to become a caddie just before Theegala enrolled at Pepperdine, they ran into each other again at the Korn Ferry Finals. Theegala finds it especially remarkable that Smith, who was Theegala's caddie throughout the final events, was pivotal in helping him advance to the Tour.

Smith claims that he has had to learn to trust Theegala, who won the 2022 QBE Shootout in December 2022 and has a reputation for making some amazing escape shots. Smith said that Theegala has a special ability to creatively maneuver the ball around trees and other obstructions.

Smith added that he usually chooses to let Theegala grab the lead on one daring shot per tournament. He underlines that Theegala always delivers and completes these difficult shots with success.

Sahith Theegala's Golf Journey

Sahith Theegala earned three NCAA All-American honors while attending Pepperdine University. His outstanding efforts in 2020 garnered him three renowned accolades: the Haskins, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus Awards, making this a remarkable achievement.

Since 2015, Theegala has collaborated with caddie Carl Smith, and their easy going relationship extends beyond golf, with a shared trust in performing bold shots helping them succeed.

Making his professional debut in 2020, Theegala rapidly gained attention with a third-place finish. He moved to the PGA Tour in 2021, following great performances in Korn Ferry events.

Theegala's talent was on full display throughout the 2021–2022 season, including a top-10 result at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The peak of his career came in September 2023, when he won his first PGA Tour event at the Fortinet Championship.

Theegala is known for his varied play and a "feel-good" attitude, and his game is similar to Bubba Watson's, emphasizing intuition and adaptation.

Sahith Theegala's Achievements

Sahith Theegala has competed in 78 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022. He has one PGA Tour victory. While he has yet to claim an international triumph, he has made the cut in 59 of the 78 competitions in which he has competed.

Theegala has three runner-up finishes and one third-place finish, proving consistent top-tier performance. His remarkable record includes nine top-five performances and 14 top-ten finishes. As per the PGA Tour, his official earnings total $12 million.

Sahith Theegala's Majors

Sahith Theegala's Awards and Honors

Sahith Theegala's Net Worth

The net worth of Sahith Theegala is estimated to be $6 million as of 2024. To start with prize money, Theegala earned $7.7 million in 2022–2023, which was his finest year to date. His career earnings are already more than $13 million, but given how successful he has been so quickly, Golf Monthly expects this amount to rise dramatically over the next few years.

Furthermore, the $5 million does not include his appearance in the FedEx Cup Tour Championship finale, when he finished 28th. Instead of receiving the largest compensation of his career for winning the QBE shootout, he received the largest payout for finishing second. Theegala earned nearly $900,000 for finishing second behind Xander Schauffele and $475k for winning the QBE Shootout.

Sahith Theegala's Ventures

Theegala has several sponsors in addition to the prize money; in 2020, he signed a professional contract with Ping. He currently carries a Ping staff bag in addition to his clubs and plays with a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball in a full Ping setup.

Aside from RBC, another sponsor of Theegala is the American technology business UKG. Zurich also supports Theegala, while Korn Ferry is another prominent sponsor. The two companies also serve as the primary sponsors of the PGA Tour's development tour.

Sahith Theegala's Assets

Unfortunately, there is no information available about the assets of Sahith Theegala. He currently resides in Spring, Texas, near Houston, in the United States.

Sahith Theegala's Family

Sahith Theegala's parents, Muralidhar and Karuna Theegala, were both born in India. Sahith was the eldest of his parents' two children. Sagan Thageela is the name of their family's youngest son.

Theegala has 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 explained to Global Indian.

Following his graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Sahith's father, Muralidhar Theegal, completed his doctoral studies at Kansas State University in 1987. After that, he began a 22-year career at Southern California's Metropolitan Water District. Nevertheless, he made time to bring his child to a private country club in the area so they could practice golf.

For the majority of their lives, the Theegala family has resided in California. It is once every two years that Muralidhar visits India. His wife, Karuna, is now battling cancer. Karuna's mother, Vijaya Laxmi, moved to the United States to help her daughter raise her children.

Muralidhar Theegala, in particular, convinced Sahith to play golf. He even made an attempt to enrol Sahith in a private school, but in the end, he was unable to do so because of the colour of his skin.

Sahith Theegala told the New York Times in an interview that he had encountered serious racial discrimination. But Sahith never gave up and kept going for his goal of being a golfer with his family's help.

Sahith Theegala's Girlfriend

Theegala is currently in a relationship with Juju R. Chan Julianna, an assistant swimming coach who is also American. Sahith and Juju are frequently observed at events. The two started dating during their time as Pepperdine University students.

Julianna is employed as an assistant swim coach at the moment after completing her studies at Pepperdine University. She also joined the Pepperdine University swim team because of her commitment to the sport and her aptitude for it.

According to reports, her team competed in the 2019 Dive Conference Championships. She also held positions as a pool manager, athletic communications intern, and lifeguard. Julianna's LinkedIn page states that she has worked at Trace as an enterprise customer success manager in addition to her sporting career.

Sahith Theegala's Cars

There is no information available about the car collection of Sahith Theegala.