The First Look: Fortinet Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Sahith Theegala met with the media and tried to compose himself. RELATED: Leaderboard | Get to know Sahith Theegala in 10 stories | Inside Sam Ryder’s epic ace on WM Phoenix Open’s 16th hole He had just come one shot short of a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open, the killing stroke a tee shot that took a bad bounce into the water at the short, par-4 17th hole, leading to a bogey. His whole family had been here. So had his old coach at Pepperdine, and his coach’s young boys. “Sorry,” Theegala said as he fought back the tears. The cameras waited. “I thought I hit a great shot on 17,” he said. “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. “Then I was worried about the ball – it was such a steep slope,” he continued. “I was worried about the ball kind of rolling back, so I maybe rushed my process just a little bit there and hit a poor chip and hit a poor putt. I just didn’t hit the shots at the right time when it counted, but definitely proud of the way I played this week.” All week Theegala, 24, said he’d already won just by being here. He only learned he’d gotten into the field as a sponsor’s exemption two weeks ago; given that he otherwise would’ve been watching from his couch, anything he did was gravy. As it turned out, there was a lot of gravy. Star-struck all week, he learned that he can go toe-to-toe with the players he used to watch on TV. He also won something that won’t show up in the FedExCup table, namely the admiration of a whole lot of new fans. By the end they were chanting his last name and giving him a loud ovation after his last-ditch birdie chip skittered past the cup on the 18th hole. After making the comebacker for par, Theegala signed for a final-round 70 that left him in a tie for third with Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele, one back. Then he went down to meet the media. What did he learn? What did we learn? Most importantly, a lot of people learned what those in his inner circle already knew, that you can’t know Theegala without liking him. All you had to do was check out what friends and family did to get here. Sahan, his little brother and a freshman at Seton Hall, sat on a snowy tarmac in Newark for two hours before making the journey west Sunday morning and landing in time to join his parents, cousin, uncles and assorted others watch perhaps the biggest round of Sahith’s young life. The two hugged when Sahith caught a glimpse of him outside the ropes on the eighth tee. “Oh, I was so surprised,” Sahith said. “I couldn’t believe it … the middle of the school year on a Sunday. He’s going to have to go back and go to school. That’s incredible that he did that.” Meanwhile, Michael Beard, who was Sahith’s coach at Pepperdine, gathered up his two young sons and an assistant coach and flew from Southern California to Phoenix. “I’m wearing the ring to give him good luck,” Beard said, flashing the national championship ring Pepperdine won last year, after Theegala turned pro. “He got one, too. He was such a positive influence on our kids and program, we felt he deserved it. “He’s one of those people,” Beard continued, “you can’t be around him and not really like him.” Vying to become the first sponsor’s exemption to win since Martin Laird at the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open, Theegala made no secret of being wide-eyed. Playing with guys like Koepka and Schauffele? Incredible, he said. They were so nice, he said. But don’t be fooled; Theegala himself is an incandescent talent, tabbed for stardom for a while now. An All-American at Pepperdine, he became just the fifth player to sweep the major awards as the top collegiate golfer in 2020. He played the Korn Ferry Tour last season and did well enough to earn his TOUR card. He hits it forever and has an otherworldly short game. Muralidhar Theegala, Sahith’s father who moved from India to the United States and was more of a tennis player than a golfer, had an inkling he had a budding star. Sahith demonstrated a fondness for the big stage when he won the Junior World and other tournaments, and in the family’s garage Muralidhar hung a two-part wooden sign. It says: THE WORLD’S BEST GOLFER LIVES HERE. And: BETTER IN THE WOODS THAN A TIGER. This time the trophy wasn’t to be for Theegala, who still lives at home. But he was right: There’s winning in the strict constructionist style and winning in the larger sense. Those new fans will have his back when he tees it up at The Genesis Invitational in his hometown of Los Angeles later this week, and you can’t help but suspect another kind of win is coming.

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Andrew Putnam (+170 for a Top 20) … If you’ve been paying attention, then you have solid ground on which to stand and argue his absence in the Power Rankings, but he’s just 2-for-4 at Mayakoba with zero top 60s. Furthermore, anytime a guy who’s been simmering takes a blow, he can be forgotten quickly. It’s the phenomenon of the sport. Case in point, since a T11 at the 3M Open in late July, he’s connected nine paydays, two of which going for a top five and another three for a top 25. At 33 years of age, he’s in his prime and befitting of the model proven to succeed at El Camaleón, but he’s also the ball-striker that the course rewards. Obviously, the projection is for a personal best this week. Nick Taylor (+350 for a Top 20) … The 34-year-old from Canada is on a heater to start the new season. He’s covered one missed cut with a T6 (Fortinet) and a pair of top 25s, including a T23 in Bermuda on Sunday. He’s a two-time PGA TOUR winner who’s retained his fully exempt status since splashing in 2014-15, but this burst is unlike him. Consider that in each of the last four completed seasons, he totaled no more than four top 25s. He’s cycled through Mayakoba six times previously, four of which yielding a payday, the only top 25 of which a T15 in 2016, but piggyback his confidence and reach for this finish. Ryan Armour … He led the PGA TOUR in both fairways hit and proximity to the hole last season, but he was limited to 19 starts due to conditional status. No biggie. He regained fully exempt status via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and already has a T13 on the board this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship. As a bunter of a certain age (46), he’s among the throng licking its chops this week. He’s also a regular attendee when eligible. Since 2017, he’s 3-for-4 with a set-best T21 in 2018. Tyler Duncan … With his profile and despite the results more often than not, he looks good a lot, but he looks even better this week, and it doesn’t hurt that this is a short course. Give a 33-year-old ball-striker a stage like El Camaleón and watch him dance. He’s 5-for-5 in the tournament with a personal-best T23 in 2020, so if you can find a top-30 market, go shopping. He’s also coming off a full season during which he ranked eighth in fairways hit, T11 in proximity to the hole and 34th in scrambling. Adri Arnaus … With the DP World Tour dark this week, the Spaniard had an opening to take on Mayakoba, albeit not for the first time. He made the first of seven career PGA TOUR starts here in 2018. He missed the cut, but that was before he was a rookie on what is now his home circuit. Since 2019, he’s finished a respective 41st, 39th and 33rd in DPWT ranking, and he’s currently 27th with this season’s finish line on the horizon. He also broke through for victory for the first time on that tour six months ago. A month later, he crashed into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. He just turned 28 and he speaks the native language of the Riviera Maya, so the transatlantic trip will have had a soft and welcome landing. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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