"Body is not meant to hold up"- Sahith Theegala on the side effects of being 'addicted' to playing tournaments
Sahith Theegala is at the Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, California, to defend his title in the now-renamed Procore Championship event (formerly known as the Fortinet Championship). From the venue, Theegala reflected on how demanding his PGA Tour schedules have been.
The defending champion held his press conference on Wednesday, September 11. Speaking to reporters, Theegala said that his team alerted him that he was playing a lot of tournaments. He said (via the PGA Tour):
"I'm addicted to playing tournaments. My team has notified me I need to just relax a little bit. Luckily, I've been very healthy, but, if I keep playing 30...I don't even know what I played the first two years, I think it was like 34 and 32." [0:01 - 0:14]
He added:
"If I keep going down that road it's just...body is not meant to hold up playing that many tournaments. And I've been lucky to be healthy and still playing...I think, including Grant Thornton [Invitational] I'm still going to play 27 this year, but it's felt like I've taken so many weeks off." [0:15 - 0:29]
Theegala's rookie season on the PGA Tour was 2021 - 2022 when he played 32 events, including the Open Championship and TOUR Championship.
The following year, Sahith Theegala played 31 PGA Tour events, including the unofficial QBE Shootout and the Grant Thornton Invitational. He also played in all four Major championships and won his first Tour event, the 2023 Fortinet Championship.
Sahith Theegala's 2024 season at a glance
Sahith Theegala had another solid season on the PGA Tour, despite not winning any tournaments. He played in 24 events with 20 cuts and eight top 10s, including two runner-up finishes at two Signature Events (The Sentry and RBC Heritage).
His other best finishes of the year included a tie for ninth at the Players Championship and a tie for third at the TOUR Championship. He played in all four Majors of the season, with a T12 at the PGA Championship as his best finish.
Theegala's performance this season lifted him to 12th in the world. He also qualified by points to make his debut in the Presidents Cup representing the United States.
The Procore Championship and Presidents Cup will be his 25th and 26th events of the season. Theegala might then rest until December when he will play in the Grant Thornton Invitational. He will most likely team up again with Rose Zhang, with whom he finished 9th in 2023.
However, the Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, will be played in November. Theegala is likely to receive an invitation to play in Albany, given his place in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour will host the so-called FedEx Cup Fall, with eight tournaments, including the Procore Championship. This series will be played primarily by players who have not secured a card for the 2025 season.