Having given one of his best performances this season at The PLAYERS Championship, the 2023 Fortinet champion Sahith Theegala seemed like a promising character for the upcoming Valspar Championship. After all, he did make 5 birdies and 4 bogeys in the 3rd round, following it up with 4 birdies and 2 bogeys in the final round. Sure, it didn’t give him a good finish, but he still looked like a tough competition.
Now, add to that the public’s memory of his 2024 “classy” behavior at the Tour Championship. The golfer faced a situation on the par-4, 3rd hole. He had driven the ball into a fairway bunker and, during his approach, believed he touched the sand while taking his backswing. After hitting the shot, he proactively called a PGA Tour rules official to report the infraction. The result? He received a two-shot penalty. Despite this, he won the fans for his show of integrity. Surely, he displayed that golf is indeed a gentleman’s game.
Now, fast forward to some six months in the present, and he seems to have done something that has brought the opposite reaction from the fans. And this has everything to do with his on-green behavior at the ongoing Valspar Championship. Playing for round 2, Theegala lost his grip on his driver on the par-3 fourth hole. What does he do? He picks up his driver and then slams it back on the ground. This moment was recorded on the camera, and so NUCLR GOLF took to X to share a clip of the situation with the following caption: ” #WATCH — Sahith Theegala launches his club in disgust @TheegalaFans“
#WATCH — Sahith Theegala launches his club in disgust @TheegalaFans
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 21, 2025
The commentators started laughing as well, despite Theegala’s obvious frustration. Although they apologized for laughing, they also said they understood the golfer’s frustration. Some fans seem to think it is funny, but others are quick to point out some very obvious things. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Golf fans are tired of bad behavior in the PGA Tour
Sahith Theegala is currently struggling at the Valspar Championship and some fans think it has everything to do with the course itself. One fan commented: “Valspar is making these guys break.” Ok, case on point. We know what happened with Theegala, but there was a similar situation back in 2022. Although Charl Schwartzel did not throw his club because it slipped out of his hand, because he had made a bad tee shot. Surely, an age-old issue.
The next fan seemed more angry and pointed at an obvious PGA Tour pattern. “All these guys do know is complain and whine. PGA has a culture problem. What happen to the class and professionalism the PGA has had forever.” Similarly, “This is such trash. These guys need months long suspensions. What a f*cking joke the pga is.” And another one, “DQ him, fine him, suspend him. Pro golfers should be expected to have better control of their emotions/behavior on the course than that.”
Take a look back at the recent Rory McIlroy incident. The World No. 2 got involved with a heckler, who also happened to be a golfer, after snatching his phone away. The incident caused uproar in the golf world. Before that, Scottie Scheffler was in the news for striking his golf bag after a bad shot at the WM Phoenix Open. A pattern? While some fans find it funny, others are undoubtedly getting tired of the golfers behaving this way. The Tour knows how to tackle bad fan behaviors, can it do the same for golfers? Or, is this too harsh?
The next fan had similar but sarcastic observations. They called out Theegala’s “impressive” club-throwing skill: “At least he threw it with good form .” Well, this doesn’t need any explanation. Take another look at the throw and you’ll understand where the sarcasm is coming from.
Looking at this and more situations, what do you think? Give us your reactions!
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