Sahith Theegala has had a life-changing season, and it’s not over yet

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – Sahith Theegala was out to dinner the other night. It was a Thai place near TPC Southwind, home of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where Theegala’s second-round 70 has him at 7 under and in contention yet again entering the weekend of a PGA TOUR event.

They were a party of seven, including Theegala’s childhood coach, Rick Hunter; college coach, Michael Beard; Beard’s two sons; a Pepperdine University booster; and Theegala’s fitness guy, Josh Loyo. It was going to be 20-25 minutes to get a table.

Then the restaurant owner, spotting a celebrity in his midst, got involved, which, ahem, expedited things.

You could say life has changed for Theegala. A year ago, he was gearing up for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Now he’s taking selfies with restaurant owners and is known as one of the fastest rising talents on the PGA TOUR.

“It feels like he’s starting to own it a little bit,” Pepperdine’s Beard said Friday, when Theegala hit 11 of 14 fairways for the second straight day but putted poorly. “At first he was kind of feeling it out, but he’s getting more comfortable out here.”

The proof is in the numbers. He’s 39th in the FedExCup and 64th in the world.

Cameron Young leads the Rookie of the Year race after a T3 at the PGA Championship and solo 2nd at The Open, two of his seven top-3 finishes this year. He’s ninth in the FedExCup. Joohyung “Tom” Kim, 20, entered the picture with his Wyndham Championship win and is 34th. Mito Pereira (38th) led all the way to the last hole of the PGA and has had a nice year.

Theegala, though, would also have to be considered a strong contender for top rookie.

“He reminds me of Tony at that age,” said Boyd Summerhays, who coaches Tony Finau, the 32-year-old who’s won three of his four PGA TOUR titles in the last 12 months. “I love the guy. A little raw, but a massive talent, and he’s got the head for it, too.”

To be sure, Theegala is learning fast, and from more than just narrow losses at the Travelers Championship (72nd-hole double bogey, T2), WM Phoenix Open (71st-hole bogey, T3), and Sanderson Farms Championship (final-round 71, T8). Theegala has had to learn how to travel, too, which meant realizing that living in L.A. wasn’t working.

Although he is SoCal to his core, he moved to Houston four months ago. He plays out of The Woodlands, where TOUR pros have put down roots for years and where Theegala said childhood memories of visiting his aunt factored into his decision.

“Just like a more central location,” he said. “I lived pretty far east in L.A. so getting to (Los Angeles International Airport) was a pain and I had like 10-hour travel days and connecting. I was like, I'm over this.” Of Houston, he added, “It's a two-hour flight everywhere direct and it's been so awesome for that.” What’s more, he has had an easier time simulating TOUR golf there than in L.A.

For the last three months, Theegala said, he has been practicing and playing on Bermudagrass, a notoriously fickle surface that can give fits to players who hail from the West Coast. The move has steeled him nicely for the Bermuda at TPC Southwind. Not that he hasn’t had a few hiccups. Of his second round, he said the front nine was a string of missed opportunities and the back was scratchy but still featured “some good shots coming down the stretch.”

Despite all that, he’s still poised to make a move in the FedExCup Playoffs.

“He forgets quickly,” said his childhood coach Hunter, who teaches at the public El Prado G.C. in Chino, California. “It’s a huge quality. Like today, he could have shot 5 or 6 under. On the first seven holes he didn’t have a birdie putt over 10 feet.”

The other night, Hunter was at the practice area with Theegala and his caddie, Carl Smith, when Theegala hooded his sand wedge and started hitting low hooks to a target only 20-25 yards away. That turned into a competition to see who could throw it closest to the pin. Sometimes his thirst for competition leads to darts, or Ping-Pong, or games made up on the spot.

“When he was 7,” Hunter said, “playing on little par-3 courses, he came back from a tournament and said, ‘Mr. Hunter, there’s this one hole with a tree right in front of the green. I can’t get over it. Can you teach me how to go around it?’ And I went, here we go, now we’re going to learn how to hit shots at 7 years old, and that’s all he does now. Around, over, under. Back then he was never hitting a straight ball, and that’s what he does now.”

Theegala is also never far from his dedicated fans. As on the West Coast Swing and elsewhere, his parents, father Muralidhar and mother Karuna, have followed him at TPC Southwind. They’ve rented a house, because Sahith also pulls in friends, cousins, aunts, uncles. Sometimes his little brother, Sahan, a student at Seton Hall, comes out. Theegala is like the Boston Red Sox: He can travel far and wide and still enjoy a modicum of hometown support.

“And people who don’t even know him love him,” Hunter said. “I always say the kids love him and the drunks love him, and everybody in between. He’s a great personality, he really is. And fun to watch. He's not afraid to take a risk, and sometimes he gets bit, but he lives with it. He’s had so many miracle shots over the years, it’s a normal happenstance.”

Theegala figures he’ll go into the weekend with some ground to make up, but he’s not worried. At the Travelers he never really led until the end but double-bogeyed 18 to lose to Xander Schauffele by two. In Phoenix, as a sponsor exemption, he was the solo leader after the second and third rounds, but a bad bounce at the drivable 17th hole trundled into the water and led to a crushing bogey. Scottie Scheffler was the first-time winner that week. At Sanderson Farms, Theegala had at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, but he never had his best stuff as he faded with a final-round 71. Sam Burns won.

Asked what he’s learned, Theegala said it hasn’t been a conscious evolution but somehow he still seems to be getting better at handling those late tee times on the weekend. “I keep reminding myself this is a great feeling to feel pressure,” he said.

He’s got the physical tools. He’s got the head for it. Sahith Theegala’s table is ready.