Theegala battles back after slow start, slips to T-27 in Utah

Sahith Theegala endured a frustrating third round at the Bank of Utah Championship, carding a modest one-under 70 to fall to T-27 at 8-under 205 after three days at the Black Desert Resort Golf Course.

The 26-year-old, who had looked sharp with rounds of 68-67 over the first two days, couldn’t maintain his early-week rhythm on a course offering plenty of scoring chances. Theegala stumbled out of the gate, bogeying his opening two holes and dropping another shot on the sixth to slip to three-over. He steadied himself with birdies on the 7th and 9th, before closing his back nine in red figures thanks to birdies at 14 and 18.

Despite the stumbles, Theegala’s form remains encouraging as he continues to rebuild after an injury-hit season that kept him out of the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. The Californian, who owns one PGA Tour title, is using the Fall stretch to regain confidence and fine-tune his swing ahead of 2026.

At the top of the leaderboard, 23-year-old Michael Brennan stole the spotlight with a superb 7-under 64, moving two shots clear of defending champion Matt McCarty (64). Brennan, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, has been on a remarkable run, with three wins in his last four PGA TOUR Americas starts.

Behind them, Rico Hoey (63), Kevin Yu (63), and Pierceson Coody (66) were tied third at 14-under, while Hayden Springer (62) and Thorbjørn Olesen (65) sat one stroke further back.

Only three events remain for players to secure top-100 FedExCup status and full Tour cards for next season.

Photo – Sahith Theegala/PGAT