Ask people in the golf world and they will tell you two things about Sahith Theegala: he is humble and an introvert. He will tell you that himself. Back in 2022, the young golfer sat down for an interview and said: “I’m an introvert by nature.” But it’s his humble and grounded words that seemed to have charmed the most in his fanbase. Back in 2023, having climbed to No. 29 OWGR, Theegala’s complaint wasn’t that he should be further up but that he should be down! When asked about his star status, he said: “I’m not. I’m overrated. You’re telling me there’s only 28 guys better than me? No way. There are parts of my game that are good. But then there are other parts that suck.”

Now, add to that the public’s memory of his 2024 “classy” behavior at the Tour Championship. The golfer faced a situation on the par-4, 3rd hole. He had driven the ball into a fairway bunker and, during his approach, believed he touched the sand while taking his backswing. After hitting the shot, he proactively called a PGA Tour rules official to report the infraction. The result? He received a two-shot penalty. Despite this, he won the fans for his show of integrity. Surely, he displayed that golf is indeed a gentleman’s game.

However, fast forward to some six months in the present, and he seems to have done something that has brought the opposite reaction from the fans. And this has everything to do with his on-green behavior at the ongoing Valspar Championship. Playing for round 2, Theegala lost his grip on his driver on the par-3 fourth hole. What does he do? He picks up his driver and then slams it back on the ground. This moment was recorded on the camera, and so NUCLR GOLF took to X to share a clip of the situation with the following caption: ” #WATCH — Sahith Theegala launches his club in disgust @TheegalaFans“

The commentators started laughing as well, despite Theegala’s obvious frustration. Although they apologized for laughing, they also said they understood the golfer’s frustration.

Theegala’s frustration has also to do with the mounting pressure. The World No. 22 hasn’t been performing very well on the greens this season. Let’s take a look at what could have inspired this latest incident. This year, his best came at the Genesis Invitational with a finish of T17. The next best performance? T36 at the beginning of this year with The Sentry. If you compare it to his 2024 season, it’s undeniable that the pressure is immense. See, his best 2024 finish came with The Sentry and the RBC Heritage where he finished 2 in both.

But fans don’t think his bad form gives Theegala an excuse for bad behavior. So, let’s take a look at what the fans are saying.

Golf fans are tired of bad behavior in the PGA Tour

Sahith Theegala is currently struggling at the Valspar Championship and some fans think it has everything to do with the course itself. One fan commented: “Valspar is making these guys break.” It has happened before, however. During the first round of the 2022 Valspar Championship, Charl Schwartzel hit his tee shot on the par-3 15th and was obviously angry with the result. What happened next? He took a few steps towards the green and then tossed his club. Surely, an age-old issue.

The next fan seemed more angry and pointed at an obvious PGA Tour pattern. “All these guys do know is complain and whine. PGA has a culture problem. What happen to the class and professionalism the PGA has had forever.” Similarly, “This is such trash. These guys need months long suspensions. What a f*cking joke the pga is.” And another one, “DQ him, fine him, suspend him. Pro golfers should be expected to have better control of their emotions/behavior on the course than that.”

Take a look back at the recent Rory McIlroy incident. The World No. 2 got involved with a heckler, who also happened to be a golfer, after snatching his phone away. The incident caused uproar in the golf world. Before that, Scottie Scheffler was in the news for striking his golf bag after a bad shot at the WM Phoenix Open. A pattern? While some fans find it funny, others are undoubtedly getting tired of the golfers behaving this way. The Tour knows how to tackle bad fan behaviors, can it do the same for golfers? Or, is this too harsh?

The next fan had similar but sarcastic observations. They called out Theegala’s “impressive” club-throwing skill: “At least he threw it with good form .” Well, this doesn’t need any explanation. Take another look at the throw and you’ll understand where the sarcasm is coming from.

Looking at this and more situations, what do you think? Give us your reactions!