PGA Tour star playing at Genesis Invitational – Sports News
Sahith Theegala is competing in one other PGA Tour occasion, however this time by way of a distinctive exemption to The Genesis Invitational.
The second signature match of the 2026 PGA Tour season is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary back at Riviera Country Club after being compelled to maneuver final yr as a result of of the wildfires within the Pacific Palisades.
This yr, Theegala acquired the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, awarded to people who symbolize variety within the sport of golf. The exemption has been provided since 2009 and permits a golfer of minority heritage to take part within the match at Riviera.
In 2017, the exemption was renamed to commemorate the legacy of Charlie Sifford, the primary African-American participant to compete on the PGA Tour.
Theegala is a Pepperdine University graduate and completed T-49 in his Tour debut at the 2017 Genesis Invitational after securing a place within the area with a win within the Collegiate Showcase at Riviera on Monday of match week.
“I’m just so glad to be here,” mentioned Theegala forward of The Genesis Invitational 2026.
“I honestly didn’t expect to be here. It’s probably my favorite event of the year. I grew up close by. All my family is from here, grew up here. Yeah, I’m just super, super happy to be here, especially to receive the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption. That was enormous to me.”
Theegala was born within the United States to Indian immigrants Muralidhar and Karuna, who arrived within the United States from Telangana, India, within the late Eighties.
“Any part I can play in growing the game and diversifying the game and what Charlie did when he was young in his career, one of the big things he stated when he was playing was he just wanted to play the game, and he’s allowed minorities like myself to just go ahead and play the game.”
Theegala had made the cut in 5 prior appearances at The Genesis Invitational, with a tie for sixth standing as his sole top-10 end at the match.
“There’s no other ramifications surrounded by that. Just hope I can do my part to keep his memory alive and all the hard work that he did for us to keep that going. But yeah, I’m just so, so pumped to be here. I only found out maybe Wednesday of last week. I got the call from Mike and was super, super honored.
“My buddy — really a couple of my buddies have gotten this, however I bear in mind vividly my buddy Aaron Beverly getting it and how cool that was for him and even how cool it was for me.
“We had another one of our buddies caddying for him so I knew how special that was, and for me to get that was such a huge deal.”
Theegala, a one-time PGA Tour winner at the 2023 Procore Championship, had recorded two top-10 finishes throughout 5 begins during the present season.
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