Sahith Theegala’s father shares cute backstory of his son and Allisen Corpuz ahead of 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational
The duo of Allisen Corpuz and Sahith Theegala make up one of the 16 teams that will compete in the Grant Thornton Invitational that begins Friday, December 13. Ahead of the mixed event, Theegala's father this week shared the story of a meeting between the two golfing stars that took place when they were kids, 20 years ago.
The two players met when they were just six years old. The meeting took place in a parking lot at the 2004 Callaway-sponsored Junior World Championship in San Diego. Murli Theegala, Sahith Theegala's father, told the story to the PGA Tour News Service. Here is part of what he said:
"When Sahith turned 6, I was still looking for tournaments for him to play. The minimum age for the junior golf tournaments was 7. Meanwhile I heard about Callaway conducting annual Junior World golf tournament in San Diego. In 2004, they opened up a 6-and-under division for the first time. Just found out about two weeks before the event. Got him entered into the event."
He added:
"On the first day of registration when me and Sahith got out of the car, we met a little girl named Allisen Corpuz and her tall dad Marcos from Hawaii and she was going to play in the 6-and-under girls' division...Both Sahith and Allisen won the Junior World that year, respectively, in the boys and girls division."
Sahith Theegala and Allisen Corpuz continued to rise in junior golf. Both went on to play collegiate golf, Theegala at Pepperdine and Corpuz at the University of Southern California.
Today, they are stars on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, respectively. Both Sahith Theegala and Allisen Corpuz have won a tournament at the highest level, Theegala at the 2023 Fortinet Championship and Corpuz at a major championship, the 2023 US Women's Open.
Sahith Theegala and Allisen Corpuz's performances ahead of the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational
Allisen Corpuz played in 25 LPGA Tour events in 2024 and made 21 cuts. She finished in the top 10 three times and her best finish was a tie for third at the FM Championship.
Corpuz played in all five majors during the season and made the cut in three of them. Her best finish was a tie for 19th at the Women's PGA Championship. She also represented the United States in the 2024 Solheim Cup. She contributed three points in four matches to her team's victory.
As for Sahith Theegala, he played in 26 tournaments during the season, making 22 cuts. He finished in the top 10 nine times, including two runner-up finishes, at The Sentry and the RBC Heritage.
He played in all four majors during the season and made the cut in three of them. His best finish in the majors was a tie for 12th at the PGA Championship. Theegala played in the 2024 Presidents Cup. He contributed 1.5 points in three matches to the American team's victory.