Cheers accompany Theegala around course as he wins Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort
Sahith Theegala put the hammer down early in Sunday’s final round of the Fortinet Championship, a PGA Tour event, at Napa’s Silverado Resort and Spa.
Starting the day with a two-shot lead, he took care of business on the front nine, making four birdies, on the North Course. His only hiccup was a lone bogey.
He did not let up on the back nine, either, as he continued to play so very well. Theegala had three more birdies. He overcame two bogeys.
It was an all-out assault by Theegala as he went about getting the upper hand on a super challenging par-72, 7,166-yard course, known for its tight fairways, long rough, and green complexes that have a lot of slope and speed and are well bunkered.
Most important, it was also a victory for Theegala, who shot a 4-under-par 68 in the final day, capturing the $8.4-million FedExCup Fall event.
This is the third year of the Fortinet Championship, which had a 156-player field and was televised by Golf Channel. The North Course had a different look and feel it to it this year, with 10 holes that were re-routed as part of new course enhancements for the tournament.
With a big gallery — including about 40 members of his family — following him from hole to hole on another sun-splashed day with temperatures in the mid-70s and light breezes, Theegala secured his first Tour win.
He completed the tournament at 21-under-par 267 and won by a two-shot margin over S.H. Kim.
This was Theegala’s 74th start on the PGA Tour. At 267, he equals the lowest score since the event moved to Silverado Resort’s North Course in 2014.
Theegala opened with a 68 and followed with rounds of 64, 67 and 68.
Theegala, an Indian-American, celebrated by raising his right hand and putter in the air.
“It doesn’t feel real. It’s probably not going to set in for a while. But that was a lot of good golf, and that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “I had so many family and friends cheering me on, and just the support I have is mind blowing. I go to bed at night these last few days and I’m like, I can’t believe how many people are cheering for me and rooting for me. This feeling is incredible. And I couldn’t have done it without my whole team and everyone out here. This is such a team effort, and for me to just put it together like this, it means the world to me.”
It was a great week and tournament for Theegala, 25, who is from Chino Hills, CA. He was tied for the lead at the halfway mark of the tournament.
There is no question that he knows his way around the Silverado layout, and he added to his record here. He tied for sixth place at the Fortinet Championship in 2022 and tied for 14th at the Safeway Open in 2020.
It’s the fourth win by a California native at the event in the last five years, joining Cameron Champ (2019) and Max Homa (2021–22).
As the winner of the Fortinet Championship, Theegala receives $1,512,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points.
“It just means the world to me. I’ve put in so much work to have this big team behind you and really every little thing that everyone does with you throughout their lives feels like it’s accumulated for me today. And I’m just so thankful,” he said.
The biggest crowds of the week were definitely behind Theegala, who was cheered as he made his way to the 1 8th green in the fading daylight with light winds.
“California is always going to be my home and my home state and the support I get out here is unbelievable,” he said.
Theegala spent the week with Tom and Jennifer Sims of Napa and their family. One of his closest friends is Zack Sims of Napa, who caddied for Theegala a few years ago in PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events. It’s the fourth straight year that he has stayed with the Sims family.
“I feel like Napa is almost kind of a second home to me. I really look forward to this event every single year. It’s definitely going to hold a special place in my heart,” he said.
“I really like Silverado. I just love firm conditions. I feel like I play my best golf in firm conditions. Every year you tee it up knowing the greens and fairways are just really, really firm. It just gets me fired up because it just puts a little bit more emphasis on short game angles and approaches. I know I can get away with some of my really wayward drives out here. So, just the combination of everything.”
Theegala was welcomed to the 18th green by tournament officials for the trophy presentation. He was joined by Andy McDowell, executive director of the tournament; Todd Shallan, managing director at Silverado; Jim Overbeck, senior vice president of Fortinet; and Keith Jensen, chief financial officer for Fortinet.
“We really enjoy hosting our tournament here. We’d like to thank Todd Shallan and his staff for 5-star service all the way. I’d also like to thank over 750 volunteers. You can’t run this tournament without volunteers. They really are great people. They always ask whatever they can do to help so we appreciate that they make us look good as well,” said Overbeck.
Taking second was S.H. Kim (68), 19-under 269.
In third was Cam Davis (70), 17-under 271.
In fourth was Eric Cole (70), 16-under 272.
In fifth was Justin Thomas (72), 15-under 273.
Theegala had seven birdies and three bogeys on his card. He hit 7-of-14 fairways and 13-of-18 greens in regulation. He also had 27 putts.
He celebrated near the 18th green with his family, including his mom and dad, Karuna and Murli.
Theegala was a three-time NCAA All-American at Pepperdine University.
“I told him, it’s a journey for you. It’s a marathon journey. You just have got to stay patient,” Murli Theegala said. “I think he was very resilient and patient with himself. I think he went and proved himself today.”
Murli said he has talked to Sahith about his heritage, being from Indian descent, being an inspiration for India.
Theegala had an outstanding 2022–23 season, which began with him tying for sixth place at the Fortinet Championship last year. He played in 28 events and missed only four cuts. He had seven top-10 and 12 top-25 finishes. He is №35 in the Official World Golf Ranking and 31st in the FedExCup standings.
He finished ninth in his debut at the Masters Tournament. It marked his first career top-10 in a major championship.
The Fortinet Championship is the first of seven events in the FedExCup Fall, a group of tournaments after the Tour Championship that finalizes eligibility for the 2024 PGA Tour season. As part of the PGA Tour’s return to a calendar-based schedule in 2024, all seven events in the FedExCup Fall will be played twice as part of the 2022–23 season, the Tour announced.
Tournaments in the FedExCup Fall offer winners the same benefits as Regular Season events — including a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, 500 FedExCup points and spots in THE PLAYERS, The Sentry and those major championships that invite PGA Tour winners, according to www.pgatour.com.
But the FedExCup Fall also is when top 125 eligibility, which provides exempt status into Full-Field Events and a spot in THE PLAYERS, is finalized for the following season.
This is the 10h straight year of the PGA Tour playing at Silverado, which also hosted the Frys.com Open (2014–2015) and the Safeway Open (2016–2020).
Silverado’s long history of hosting PGA Tour events dates back to the 1960s.
The Kaiser International Open Invitational (1968–1976) and Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic (1977–1980), both PGA Tour events, were played at Silverado.
Furthermore, The Transamerica and Napa Valley Championship, both PGA Tour Champions events, were held at Silverado from 1989–2002.
The Silverado winner’s circle features some of the biggest names in golf, including Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Lee Trevino, Tom Kite, Dave Stockton and Billy Casper.
Other champions here: Kermit Zarley, Ken Still, George Knudson, Ed Sneed, J.C. Snead, Miller Barber, John Fought, Sangmoon Bae, Emiliano Grillo, Brendan Steele, Kevin Tway, Cameron Champ, Stewart Cink and Max Homa.
Theegala has now joined the winner’s circle.
Two-time defending champion Max Homa finished tied for seventh in his bid to become the first player to win the same PGA Tour event three straight years.
Scholarship presentation
Gavin Brazelton, operations system analyst at Silverado Resort, was presented with the 2024 Exclusive Networks North America and Fortinet Cybersecurity Scholarship on Sunday.
The scholarship amount is up to $50,000.
Presenting the scholarship was Jim Overbeck, senior vice president of marketing at Fortinet, and Brian Vincik, Senior Vice President of North America for Exclusive Networks.
“Gavin is very well known at Silverado. He just contributes 1,000 percent to the organization. I always see him around. He’s always willing to help,” said Vincik. “I said, this is a type of individual that we want to be involved with and we want to be able to work with.
“We’re really thrilled to have him be a part of this program. I know you’re doing great. You’ve got the right attitude. We’re going to do things beyond the scholarship to make sure that Gavin goes to different events and different industry things that that will even get him more networked and be able to contribute even more.”
Vincik added:
“We’re so fortunate and privileged to be a partner of Fortinet. We’re very fortunate to be a part of this industry and we look forward to next year as well being here and supporting these kinds of initiatives.”
