HOUSTON – Sahith Theegala isn’t afraid to be honest.
Ahead of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course, Theegala, who lives in The Woodlands, Texas, was asked about whether the upstart LIV Golf affected him.
“I think no matter what everyone feels about either tour, whatever opinions they have or thoughts they have, I think it affects everyone, whether they want to admit it or not,” Theegala said.
As the PGA Tour’s fall season begins to wind down (there’s only two events left offering FedEx Cup points until 2023), talk hasn’t subsided about the LIV Golf Series, as its season ended two weeks ago in Miami. Next year, LIV will return and be more prominent, moving to 14 events from eight, and rumors swirl about the next players from the Tour who may make the jump.
Theegala has long pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had conversations with those who now play for LIV. The Houston Open’s defending champion, Jason Kokrak, plays for the Greg Norman-led circuit.
However, Theegala doesn’t have an issue with players who have left the Tour, but he understands it has taken away all of the world’s best players playing at once.
“Like, we all want to play with Cam (Smith) and DJ and those guys that are some of the best players in the world and there’s no denying that,” Theegala said. “It’s unfortunate that the talent pool’s split a little bit.”
However, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world for the PGA Tour. Even if the Houston Open is missing some names who would have likely been here this week if they were eligible to play, like Houston resident Patrick Reed among others, Theegala said it gives someone else a tee time who is ready for the spotlight.
“There’s more opportunity than ever,” Theegala said. “There’s just too many good golfers, especially in this day and age, that the next guy up is going to go ahead and fill that spot. And a guy that maybe hasn’t had a chance to be that superstar is going to step up into that role.
“There’s just too many golfers, too many good golfers. There’s never going to be a lack of superstar power on the Tour.”
