Sahith Theegala Joins Effort to Help LA Fire Victims as LAGC Leverages Tiger Woods Face-Off for Good

The devastating LA fires are getting worse day by day and the death toll has hit 24 today! According to the officials and firefighters, the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon. This has left victims feeling helpless, including some PGA Tour pro golfers, who had memories attached to the city. One such professional is Sahith Theegala, who struggled to maintain focus during the Sony Open.

After the first round of the full-field Hawaiian tournament, Theegala opened up to the Golf Channel, saying, “It’s a brutal situation; just can’t do anything. It’s mother nature. It’s a real struggle to focus, getting updates on my phone,” referring to the updates about his family members and friends affected by the fires. He further emphasized feeling helpless saying, “It’s pretty hard not to be there, not that I can do anything.” Interestingly a new update shows that the Fortinet Championship winner just proved himself wrong in a good way!

On January 13th, Theegala’s girlfriend, Julianna Chan, shared an update on her Gram story revealing the Theegala family’s active efforts to raise funds for the wildfire victims in LA. Theegala had initially planned to donate $100 for every birdie and $250 for every eagle he made during the Sony Open to support fire relief efforts in the Los Angeles area.

But now the update reveals that the PGA Tour Pro would extend this fundraising initiative for several more weeks. “Any little bit helps during this devastating time,” he emphasized, providing links and descriptions for those looking to contribute. “Gonna be continuing this for the whole West Coast swing; realized making birdies and eagles is hard,” he added, reflecting on his Sony Open scoreboard, where he carded 8 under par 15 birdies and zero eagles.

This initiative of the 27-year-old came after Los Angeles GC’s big decision to turn heads toward the Tiger Woods’s league. LAGC will be competing against Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links golf course tomorrow at 7 P.M. (EST) and it aims to turn the showdown into a beneficial cause.

This was significant when on January 10th, they announced their collaboration with the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). LAFD is a non-profit organization that works tirelessly to support victims of the LA fires. According to their post, “All proceeds from ticket sales for the showdown on 14th will be donated to The LAFD Foundation.”

But one might wonder, why golfers are using the TGL platform and not the Jay Monahan’s Club boost to fundraising. Well, the reason is pretty shocking!

Why is the TGL and not PGA Tors raising funds for LA fire victims?

Tiger Woods‘s tech-infused league gained 3.2 million viewers on its very first day (January 7th) and with that kind of number, one can not doubt that its second round would be a success too! The second round of Tiger Woods’s TGL will feature a matchup between LAGC and Jupiter Links Golf Club, on January 14th. Given this enthusiasm, the fundraising strategy seems poised for success. 

On the other hand, the PGA Tour is facing significant challenges. Jay Monahan & Co. has endured several setbacks this year. Initially, big names like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler were absent from the opening Hawaiian event. But the tensions escalated even more when players withdrew from the Sony Open back to back leading to a stark decline in viewership for the Hawaiian events. 

To add to the concerns, NUCLR Golf recently reported a stat that revealed Matsuyama’s win at The Sentry attracted only 461K viewers this year. This was a drastic decrease compared to previous years, with 707K viewers and 603K viewers in 2023. You see, a straight 34% drop in viewership from last year!