Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia
Honolulu, Hawaii: Sahith Theegala, who came within a whisker of grabbing the title at the opening event on the PGA TOUR last week is back again in Hawaii this week for the Sony Open. The Indian-American, who finished second at the Sentry, will tee up alongside another Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, who after contending earlier in the week finished T-14.
Theegala and Bhatia will play together with Ludvig Aaberg, the Swede, who has caught everyone’s imagination with a stunning debut season in 2023 during which he won and was also picked for Ryder Cup by Europe.
Theegala and Bhatia also won their maiden PGA TOUR titles in 2023 and the trio is all set to make a big impression on the Tour. They tee off in the afternoon.
Last week after finishing second at Sentry, Theegala said, “Last year I was hurt during the off-season, didn’t play any golf. This year I got a lot of work in, in the gym, a lot of work in with my coach, and felt so ready for this event. I was so pumped for this (Sentry) event, and obviously with the signature events and all that big deal,
“I knew it was important to get off to a fast start. Yeah, finishing second here is going to be a really nice boost for the rest of the West Coast Swing, and just to start off what I think is a pretty important year with a little bit of unknowns and everything, that’s been going on, it’s nice to get started.”
Chinese Taipei star C.T. Pan begins his eighth season on the PGA TOUR at this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii with one key goal in mind, which is to stay injury-free following a wretched 2023 campaign.
The 32-year-old missed five months of action following a left wrist injury which has proven to be difficult for the one-time PGA TOUR winner but he is determined to put last season behind. Pan will have 13 medical starts for the new season, and needs to secure 57.89 FedExCup points to retain his TOUR card (Top 125 status) for full-field events.
The field for the Sony Open 2024 at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu is headlined by defending champion Si Woo Kim of Korea, last week’s The Sentry winner Chris Kirk, World No. 8 Matt Fitzpatrick, 2023 Rookie of the Year Eric Cole, Theegala, Aberg and the 2022 Sony Open champion Hideki Matsuyama.
Pan’s compatriot, Kevin Yu, is also starting his 2024 season this week.
