Latest<\/p>\n
<\/a>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]>![\"Sahith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770522848_875_image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Sahith Theegala holes 43-foot birdie putt on No. 7 at WM Phoenix Open<\/p>\n
*:not(style)~*:not(style){margin-top:0.5rem;-webkit-margin-end:0px;margin-inline-end:0px;margin-bottom:0px;-webkit-margin-start:0px;margin-inline-start:0px;}]]><\/p>\n
A<\/p>\n
Change Text Size<\/p>\n
Tournament host Tiger Woods has announced Sahith Theegala as the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into the 2026 The Genesis Invitational. Theegala will join the field at The Riviera Country Club, Feb. 19-22.<\/p>\n
Awarded annually since 2009, the Sifford Exemption has been given to a deserving golfer from a minority background to play in The Genesis Invitational. The exemption continues Sifford\u2019s legacy by recognizing players whose journeys reflect the power of opportunity, perseverance and progress in the game of golf.<\/p>\n
Perseverance helped propel Sifford to opportunities on the golf course, and his belief in earning opportunity through performance remains central to the exemption that bears his name. Like Sifford, Theegala has let his golf clubs make the statement, first as a decorated junior and collegiate golfer, and now as one of the game\u2019s top rising professionals.<\/p>\n
“During Charlie\u2019s playing days, all he wanted was an opportunity to compete with the best players in the world so he could showcase his game, and Sahith shares those same characteristics,\u201d Woods said. \u201cI am proud to welcome Sahith to the field for The Genesis Invitational, a tournament that shares a lot of meaning for us both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Fullerton, California, to parents who immigrated to the United States from India, Theegala was raised in Chino Hills, California. His path into the game mirrors many of the values central to Sifford\u2019s legacy. Theegala was introduced to golf by his father when he was young and learned the game primarily on public golf courses. He would become an accomplished junior golfer and one of the nation\u2019s top amateurs while at Pepperdine.<\/p>\n
*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]>![\"Sahith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771034710_136_image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Sahith Theegala\u2019s family roots, inspiration for the next generation<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving this special invitation from Tiger is an honor,\u201d Theegala said. \u201cThe Genesis Invitational has played an important role in my journey to the PGA TOUR, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to compete in Charlie\u2019s memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Theegala made his PGA TOUR debut as a Pepperdine University sophomore at The Riviera Country Club in 2017, having earned an exemption into The Genesis Invitational field by virtue of his Collegiate Showcase victory. Theegala turned that exemption into a T49 finish as an amateur, making the cut in his first start on the PGA TOUR. His first professional start on the PGA TOUR came three years later in Connecticut at the Travelers Championship – the tournament Sifford won for his first victory. <\/p>\n
As Sifford believed, opportunity is only meaningful when met with performance, and Theegala has done exactly that on the PGA TOUR. In just over five years, he has one career win, has made 100 cuts, finished in the top 10 of a tournament 24 times, and he and his family have become fan favorites. To begin the 2026 season, Theegala has made the cut in all four of his starts, finishing in the top-10 twice. The start at Riviera will be his sixth time competing in The Genesis Invitational, a tournament where he has previously made all five cuts and has finished in the top 15 three times. His best finish in The Genesis Invitational came in 2023 when he finished T6.<\/p>\n
*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]>![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771034710_127_Coody_topper.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Feb 9, 2026<\/p>\n
See who earned Signature Event starts via Aon Swing 5 at WM Phoenix Open<\/a><\/p>\n Presented by<\/p>\n![\"AON\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aon-logo-new-230.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/HTW-R4-topper.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"10H AGO 3 Min Read Latest *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]> Sahith Theegala holes 43-foot birdie putt on No. 7 at WM…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-473549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}