Sahith Theegala launched his golf club across the course after being left enraged by his own tee shot at the Valspar Championship. The 27-year-old was battling through a nightmare round at Innisbrook, with the windy conditions making it hard to find any sort of consistency. Theegala had made three bogeys in his last six holes before he stepped up to navigate a tricky par-three.
He may well have been frustrated before even taking his first shot, which veered to the right of where he was aiming. The ball landed in the bunker next to the green before rolling out and coming to a stop in the rough. Theegala reacted furiously to his errant tee shot, dropping his club to the ground before picking it up and throwing it across the course.
His angry reaction prompted laughter in the ESPN studio, with one commentator noting: “That was two swings he made without the club in his hand on the same hole. On the front nine, he had so many swings with just one arm on the club.
“I’m sorry to laugh at somebody else’s pain, but it is one of the funniest things because we can all relate to the pain he is going through right now, the frustration he is feeling. Hilarious.”
Theegala made a swift recovery after regaining his composure, getting up and down for par to make up for his misguided tee shot. He ended up carding a second round of one-over-par, leaving him four shots adrift of the lead heading into the weekend.
The man from California has endured a frustrating 2025, recording his best finish of the year with a T17 at the Genesis International. He will be hoping to rediscover his form as soon as possible, having finished third at last year’s Tour Championship.
Theegala is not the only player to have lost his cool at Innisbrook this week, with Patton Kizzire drop-kicking his putter across the green before withdrawing from the competition on Thursday.
The 39-year-old missed a routine putt from only a few yards out and was unable to control his fury. He reacted by punting his club high into the air, where it stayed for a few seconds before eventually coming down at the opposite edge of the green.
Kizzire decided to pull out of the tournament just moments later, citing a back problem. It is not known if he picked up the injury while kicking his club or if it was caused by something else.
