PACIFIC PALISADES – Sahith Theegala was brave enough to ask Phil Mickelson to take a photo with him Sunday afternoon, after they signed their scorecards in the officials’ room near the Riviera Country Club locker facility to complete their Genesis Open participation.
There was no follow-up request to have Mickelson sign anything for him.
No need to challenge any sort of obscure NCAA benefits violation.
“Honestly, there probably is some NCAA thing about it,” Theegala said with a laugh.
It will show on the final leaderboard that the 19-year-old Pepperdine sophomore from Chino Hills played even with Mickelson, the 46-year-old five-time majors champion, through the first three rounds. They were tied at 48th place with a 2-under 211 by mid-morning Sunday.
But then the fourth round officially started for the threesome of Theegala, Mickelson and J.B. Holmes at 10:45 a.m.
Two shots later, Mickelson had recorded a chip-in eagle from off the 10th green. Seven holes later, he made another eagle. The two-time Riviera champion would recover nicely to even make the first page of the leaderboard before posting a final round of 2-under 69. He settled for a score of 280, tied for 34th.
Theegala, the only amateur in the event after he qualified with the low round in the Monday’s Collegiate Showcase, went out with an even-71 to go 2-under 282 for the tournament and share 49th with, among others, World No. 9 ranked Sergio Garcia and first-round leader Sam Saunders.
Tournament officials say the best finish ever by an amateur at the PGA Riviera event since 1960 was USC’s Craig Stadler tying for sixth in 1974. In 1988, Arizona State’s Mike Springer tied for 30 with a 3-under 281.
Theegala’s weekend, as it turned out, was four strokes better than just-dethroned World No. 1 Jason Day.
“I hit a wall the last couple of holes, energywise,” said Theegala, who played 32 of his final 36 holes between about 6:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. “Still, it was a blast coming down the stretch knowing this was my PGA experience for now.”
Theegala said he resisted measuring himself against Mickelson as he went hole-by-hole, but he did learn a thing or two from him.
“Some of the shots he hit today were unbelieveable,” Theegala said. “He’s just as good as everyone says he is. Maybe even better. It was really cool to see. I’ll obviously never forget this experience of playing with him.”
Theegala, who sounded just as pumped up to rejoin his Waves teammates for a tournament called The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta from Monday through Wednesday, confirmed his plans are to finish his four years and get his degree in sports administration. He’ll also be able to refocus his attention on the 2017 U.S. Amateur Championship – to be played at Riviera in August, with some of the play as well at Bel-Air Country Club, where Pepperdine’s team plays each Wednesday.
http://www.pepperdinewaves.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/sahith_theegala_975250.html
“This has given me unbelievable confidence,” he said. “Playing Riv in tournament conditions is something that very few others can say.”
It won’t hurt that the family and friends who watched him play all weekend – he said there were about 30 for the final round – can also return for that shot at a USGA official title.
Mickelson said playing with Theegala was “great … He played well and I thought it was pretty cool the way his family and friends came out and supported him. That was pretty neat.”
Theegala planned to catch some sleep on the drive to La Quinta on Sunday night, even though he had “a ton of homework to catch up on … I haven’t had a chance to check on emails from my professors.”
He’s learned enough valuable lessons related toward his degree this weekend already.
CHIP SHOTS
Along with winning the event, Dustin Johnson led the field in driving distance (315.3 yards) and greens in regulation (56.72 percent) …
In 12 rounds at the PGA stop at Riviera, Jason Day has never posted a sub-70 score …
Mickelson’s last four tournament appearances before Riviera ranged from a tie for 14th at Torrey Pines to a 65th position at Pebble Beach, so his Genesis Open performance was “encouraging in some areas, discouraging in others and I’ll have something to build on in the coming weeks … I’m throwing a lot of shots away that I shouldn’t be throwing away. I’m doing the hard things well but the easy things, I’m not doing so well.”
Contact the writer: thoffarth@scng.com
