Theegala on top of leaderboard going into final round of Fortinet Championship at Silverado
There are all kinds of people in contention at the Fortinet Championship.
There is Sahith Theegala, Cam Davis, Justin Thomas.
There is S.H Kim, Matt Kuchar, Eric Cole.
There is Callum Tarren, Peter Malnati, Martin Trainer.
There is Robby Shelton, Scott Harrington, K.H. Lee, Max Homa.
They are all on the leaderboard as the PGA Tour event at Silverado Resort and Spa continued on Saturday with the third round.
They are all in the mix heading into Sunday’s final round on Silverado’s North Course, a very challenging par-72, 7,123-yard layout that is known for extremely tight fairways and greens that have a combination of speed and slope.
With the fourth and final day to go, there are nine players within six shots of the lead.
Yes, it’s a very crowded leaderboard and a tournament, which carries an $8.4 million purse, that really no one is running away with.
Yes, it shapes up as a super Sunday in Napa. Fasten your seatbelts for another big day of golf as the first event of the FedExCup Fall has excitement and drama written all over it.
On a picture-perfect Saturday, with temperatures in the mid-70s, sunny conditions and a light breeze, the biggest crowds of the tournament so far were treated to another day of great scoring and shot-making, with appreciative and enthusiastic cheers that you could hear from all around the course.
“Certainly, a great leaderboard, some really good names up there at the top. I’m thrilled to be part of those names and looking forward to having some fun out there,” said Kuchar. “This is kind of why we all play. You want to have a chance come Sunday and golf gets a lot more fun when you’ve got a chance to win a tournament on Sunday.”
In the lead is Theegala, who fired a 5-under-par 67 and is at 17-under-par 199, with a two-shot advantage over Cam Davis, Justin Thomas and S.H Kim. Theegala is looking for his first win in his 74th PGA Tour start.
Theegala was tied for the 36-hole lead, at 12-under, with S.H Kim. Theegala is making his fourth start at the Fortinet.
“It went well. I really stayed patient at the start of the round,” said Theegala. “I had a couple of really nice two-putt pars early on. I’m really hitting my irons pretty well and feel like I’m rolling it well.
Overall, really happy with the way it went.”
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.
“I’ve said it so many times, the PGA Tour’s probably as deep as it’s ever been and these guys are really, really good. It takes a lot — three, four rounds of really good golf to be in contention.
“I think I learned just as much from not being in contention as being in contention, but you’ve just got to keep putting in the work and hopefully it pays off on the golf course.”
Theegala hit 5-of-14 fairways and 15-of-18 greens in regulation. He was 3-for-3 in scrambling and had 28 putts.
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.
The winner of the Fortinet Championship will receive $1,512,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points.
This is the 10th straight year of Silverado hosting the PGA Tour on its North Course, which was re-designed by Johnny Miller, a 25-time PGA Tour champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member.
Tied for second, at 15-under 201, is Davis (65), Thomas (65) and Kim (69).
Tied for fifth, at 14-under 202, is Kuchar (65) and Cole (68).
“Silverado’s a fantastic resort, a fantastic golf course. This is one that regardless of where on the schedule it is I’m likely to find myself here,” said Kuchar.
“This course is playing firm and fast. When it’s that way, stopping the ball on the green, trying to get a ball to stop close to a hole is tough. If you’re trying to do that from the rough, it gets really hard. So, you want to be in the fairway with a chance. If you do drive it in the fairway, it tends to be some shorter irons. I think that tends to be one of my strengths. So, trying to find fairways and try to score with some shorter irons are two things I think I do well.
“I feel as confident as I’ve been in a while of kind of understanding my swing and understanding what I’m trying to do to hit the shots I want to hit. And then the putter’s been working well this week, too. And shout out to Gary Woodland. I went down to see him last week, kind of check in and see the kids. We started talking shop, talking golf and he shared with me some of the things he’s been working on with his putting. I got out to the putting green here on Tuesday and gave it a try and thought, holy cow, that actually works for me, too. So big thanks to Gary because I’ve certainly done well with the putter in my hand this week.”
Friday’s second-round cut was at 3-under 141, with 67 professionals and one amateur from a field of 156 players advancing to the weekend.
Notables missing the cut: Zach Johnson (U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain), Stewart Cink (2020 Fortinet Championship winner, U.S. Ryder Cup Team Vice-Captain), Aaron Baddeley (500th PGA Tour start), Joel Dahmen.
In seventh place is Tarren (67), at 12-under 204.
Tied for eighth, at 11-under 205, is Malnati (66), Trainer (68) and Shelton (68).
Tied for 11th, at 10-under 206, is Harrington (68), K.H. Lee (69), and Homa (70).
Homa, the tournament’s two-time defending champion and World №7, was in first place for a time on Saturday, as he got it to 13-under. The last player to win the same event three years in a row was Steve Stricker (2009, 2010, 2011, John Deere Classic).
“Frustrating, because I had it today and did nothing with it,” said Homa. “The game is starting to feel really good, which is nice. Winning the golf tournament is starting to feel a little bit fleeting. Hopefully I can maybe make some noise.”
Justin Thomas is in a very good spot, as he is seeking to win for the eighth straight season, which would be the longest active streak on Tour. He had an eagle-3 on the par-5, 15th hole.
“I scored very well,” said Thomas, who has the most Tour wins (15) and is the only past FedExCup champion in the field. “More than anything, I’m staying patient and I’m staying kind of within myself and I’m just managing my way around the course very well. I’m putting myself in a lot better positions to have good things happen, but more than anything, mentally I truly believe that good things are going to happen, so that’s at least a good start.
“The crowd is amazing today, seemed like there was quite a lot of people out there. The finishing stretch obviously creates a lot of excitement. This is why all of us play, so it’s nice to be a part of those roars a little bit.”
Cam Davis, who is from Australia, had six top-10 finishes during the 2022–23 season and is 48th in the FedExCup standings.
“Everything was working well. I was hitting my driver well, my irons for the most part were getting me in pretty good positions,” said Davis. “I kept myself out of trouble for the most part and when I did, I got an up and down, which is really good. To keep bogeys off the card around here isn’t easy and I’m always happy when I’m able to keep a whole round together like that.”
First Street Napa Putting Challenge
The finals of the First Street Napa Putting Challenge were held on Saturday, near the first hole of the Silverado South Course, at the Fortinet Championship.
Ole Health won $20,000 and Veritas Christian Academy won $5,000, Andy McDowell, executive director of the tournament, announced. Ole Health won it in a playoff,
There were four charities and 10 schools that participated in the event.
“We are partnering with First Street Napa. They had the plan and they built a great little mini golf course at First Street. They brought it on-site here,” said Jim Overbeck, senior vice president of marketing at Fortinet.
“Napa has been great to Fortinet while we’ve been here. This is our third year. They’ve really embraced us with open arms. And so, to be able to give back to the community and give back to some well deserving charities that really helped in this area, it’s a win-win.
“Napa supports us. We support them right back.”
A 7-hole course was used for the First Street Napa Putting Challenge downtown.
For the finals, there was a one-hole, 90-degree course, with multiple rounds.
Each team had a number of representatives and they all went through once and kept score, said McDowell.
“This partnership with First Street Napa has been really fun for us, because it started last year with us bringing pros to First Street Napa to putt,” said McDowell. “And this year, we were able to do this putting challenge and bring the charities to the course and let the spectators and the fans see what we’re doing for charity.
“There were some really good putters and they were very competitive. So, it was pretty fun to watch.
“It’s just neat for the spectator to see what we can do for the community with this tournament.”
Tournament Notes
* Sunday’s final round starts from the №1 tee at 8 a.m.
* Sahith Theegala and Cam Davis play in the final grouping of the day, at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.
* The Fortinet Championship is televised by Golf Channel.
* Players are grouped in twosomes for the last two rounds.
* To purchase tickets, or for more information, go to fortinetchampionship.com.
