Sahith Theegala fist bumps some young fans as he walks to the third tee during the final round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 13, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Sahith Theegala, a Californian of Indian origin , playing on a sponsor’s exemption at the US$ 8.2mn Phoenix Open in Arizona, missed out on a playoff by just one shot. The 24-year-old had led after the second and third rounds and remained tied for the lead until he made bogey on the 17th hole. His drive kicked left into the water on the drivable par-4, leading to a costly dropped shot.
Theegala’s drive on the 17th:
Costly mistake at 17.
Co-leader Sahith Theegala finds the water off the tee. pic.twitter.com/2SMrecER9O
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2022
Still, Theegala had reason to be encouraged after shooting 66-64-69-70 (15-under 269) to finish tied-3rd, his best performance on the tour so far.
“I thought I hit a great shot on 17,” Theegala told the PGA Tour. “It was cutting. As long as it’s another yard right, I think that’s perfect. Kick straight and it’s good. Kicked left into the water there … I just didn’t hit the shots at the right time when it counted, but definitely proud of the way I played this week.”
Theegala had led after 54 holes on the PGA Tour once before at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October 2021 but lost the lead on the back nine.
Theegala qualified for the PGA Tour through the Korn Ferry Tour finals last year. He was the consensus NCAA American Collegiate player of the year in his final year at Pepperdine University in 2020.
An emotional @SRTheegala is consoled by mom and dad after coming up 1 shot short of a playoff @WMPhoenixOpen.
The 24-year-old earned countless new fans this week. pic.twitter.com/tq5Q2YsFCy
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2022
The tournament was won by Scottie Scheffler, who birdied the third extra hole to beat Patrick Cantlay. It was Scheffler’s first win on the tour and came in his 71st career start. Cantlay shot a bogey-free 67 to post the clubhouse target of -16. Scheffler, who was three shots behind standing on the 13th tee, made four birdies over his final six holes to force a playoff.
Meanwhile Anirban Lahiri shot 70-75 (3-over 145) to miss the cut, which came at 2-under 140 for the event.
To put into perspective – Theegala picked up a cheque of US$ 434,000 for his tied-3rd finish in Arizona compared to India’s Shubhankar Sharma’s cheque of US$ 690,000 cheque for his tied-2nd finish two weeks back in Abu Dhabi.
The Tour’s next event is the US$ 12mn Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club from Feb. 17-20.
Credits:-
Photo -(Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)