WiretoWire: Theegala thrills in maiden TOUR title
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Sahith Theegala secures first TOUR win at Fortinet Championship
Written by Staff
THEEGALA CLAIMS MAIDEN TITLE AT FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP
Sahith Theegala was not going to let this one get away. The rising PGA TOUR star has had a couple near-misses over his first two seasons, but heading into the final round of the Fortinet Championship with a two-shot lead, in his beloved California, with three dozen friends and family cheering his every move, he broke through for his first victory on TOUR. The last time Theegala was on the golf course, he made a late bogey at the BMW Championship to miss qualifying for the TOUR Championship by one measly spot in the FedExCup standings. That disappointment gave him the inspiration that he needed to get back to work and compete in the fall, even though he didn’t need to. The 25-year-old opened the final round at Silverado Resort by making three birdies in his first five holes to extend his lead and then never looked back. There were a couple bogeys mixed in there, including one on the last hole, but they were outweighed by the brilliant birdies. After missing the par-4 14th fairway well to the left, Theegala muscled a wedge to 20 feet and then calmly rolled in the left-to-right breaker, first pumped and watched his family go berserk. He shot 68-64-67-68 for a 21-under 267 total and to tie the tournament record set by Stewart Cink two years ago. Korean S.H. Kim finished in second place, two shots back, and Australian Cam Davis was third. With the win, Theegala earned $1.51 million.
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MIC CHECK
“It's probably not gonna set in for a while, but that was a lot of good golf and some of the most fun I've had in life. I had so many family and friends cheering me on... I couldn't have done it without my whole team.”
Sahith Theegala
BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Grayson Murray claimed his second win of the Korn Ferry Tour season at the Simmons Bank Open to lock up his 2024 PGA TOUR card and be #TOURBound.
6 - Steve Stricker won for the sixth time in just 15 starts this season on PGA TOUR Champions and successfully defended the Sanford International.
65 - Cooper Musselman made four birdies in his final six holes to shoot 65 and earn the final spot in the third of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
