The bizarre reason why this PGA Tour star does not use a 7-iron
As far as superstitions on the golf course go, Sahith Theegala's aversion to 7-irons is one of the weirdest on the PGA Tour.
For most golfers, the seven iron is a trusted friend in the bag, but that's certainly not true for PGA Tour star Sahith Theegala.
Theegala, 26, enjoyed a fantastic end to his 2024 season, finishing third at the Tour Championship, but he did it all without a seven-iron in his bag—or did he?
As Smylie Kaufman recently revealed on his podcast, the 'Smylie Show,' Theegala has a real hatred for his seven iron.
Despite that disdain, he still wanted to have it in his bag, so he drew upon the PING Tour staff's craftsmanship to create a special club that wouldn't spook him.
The club in question is, of course, a seven iron in everything but name.
When Kaufman met Theegala on the course at East Lake, the popular American confessed to the former PGA Tour pro that he had been struggling to hit his seven-iron, with mishits and fat shots seemingly appearing without warning.
Theegala told Kaufman:
“Last couple weeks, I’ve been really struggling with my 7-iron. I’ve been mis-hitting it, fatting it, so I showed up to East Lake this week and said, please, manufacturers, just don’t put 7 on it, just put 8-iron on the top.”
As a result, when Theegala turned up to the PGA Tour's season finale, he did indeed have two eight irons in his bag.
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The decision paid dividends for Theegala as he shot four rounds in the 60s to finish the week 24-under, four shots behind the eventual winner, Scottie Scheffler.
His third place finish capped off an excellent season, and despite not adding to his win tally, he managed to record eight top-10 finishes, including two runner up results at the RBC Heritage and The Sentry.
Theegala's productive year on the course also earned him close to $16m in prize money, with $7.5m of that coming as a result of his FedEx Cup finish.
