After Collin Morikawa, Why Did 1X PGA Tour Champion Sahith Theegala Join the LAGC?

After introducing Collin Morikawa as their first player, Los Angeles Golf Club unveiled the next person in line. In an official announcement, the team management said that Sahith Theegala, who won his maiden PGA Tour victory in this year’s Fortinet Championship, will join the team as the second player.

TGL claims to offer something unique in terms of adding local flavor to each team. Going by that dictum, Los Angeles native Morikawa’s inclusion made total sense. Theegala, however, currently lives in Houston. So why did the Texas native pick Los Angeles over other teams?

Sahith Theegala had a special connection to LA

The unique thing about Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s futuristic league is that the teams represent the local culture and tradition. Consider McIlroy’s team, Boston Common Golf, for example. The name is a nod to Boston Common Park, established in 1634. The logo with a frog is also a nod to the pond that sits just outside the park’s vicinity. Similarly, the LAGC’s monochrome logo is a homage to the iconic Getty Center and LACMA.

It is also why Tiger Woods is on the roster of Jupiter Links GC, a team he co-owns. Similarly, for Sahith Theegala, the choice seemed very simple. The California-born golfer is an alumnus of Pepperdine University of Los Angeles. Theegala was part of the university team roster from 2016–17 to 2019–20 before his amateur career was cut short by COVID-19.

Although he couldn’t bag the most coveted NCAA team title for the Pepperdine Waves, the 25-year-old won three of the most prestigious awards as a fifth-year senior for the team. In May 2020, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson by winning the Haskins Award, followed by the Ben Hogan Award the next month, and finally completing his haul with the Jack Nicklaus Award in July.

After achieving so many things as an amateur in Los Angeles, perhaps Theegala didn’t have to give it a second thought. The 2023 Fortinet Championship winner said, “Being part of this dynamic team presents an incredible opportunity to represent my home town of Los Angeles and grow the game of golf locally.” While “hometown” is the key here, it also allows him to team up with a Ryder Cupper.

Other big names who are a part of the LAGC? 

Collin Morikawa, another Los Angeles native, joined LAGC. For Theegala, it allows him to team up with another ace golfer from his hometown. However, only two names for the four-player roster have been announced so far. Notably, only Boston Common Golf has its full roster available for fans; however, LAGC still has some big names as part of their squad,even though they may not be players!

Los Angeles GC doesn’t just boast of star players; they have drawn investors from across multiple sports. While Michele Wie West is from golf, LAGC has Serena Williams and Venus Williams as investors. Joining the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA are the Antetekoumpo brothers. The team is formed by the co-founder of social media giant Reddit, Alex Ohanian, who also happens to be the husband of Venus Williams.

Read More: As Dark Clouds Loom Large Over His Return, Will Tiger Woods’ TGL Dream Suffer Another Heartbreaking Twist of Fate?

TGL is set to debut on January 9 next year. The team-play format game is widely expected to be a rival of LIV Golf; however, whether LAGC can dominate in the first season remains to be seen!

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