Theegala drops with 70 after a strong start in Bank of Utah Championship

Ivins (USA), Oct 26 (IANS) Sahith Theegala, who shot 68-67 on the first two days, was unable to maintain his momentum, carding a one-under 70 in the third round of the Bank of Utah Championship and slid down the standings.

Competing at the scenic Black Desert Resort Golf Course, the Indian-American star moved to 8-under 205 for three rounds on Saturday. That total saw him slip from inside the top 10 to tied-27th heading into Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Fall event.

Theegala, who looked like getting to the form that saw him rise to 11th in the world in the middle of 2024, struggled to find his rhythm early on a layout that had offered plenty of scoring opportunities.

He bogeyed the first two holes and then dropped another shot on the sixth to fall to three over for the day. A birdie on the seventh halted the slide, and another on the ninth saw him turn in one-over. On the back nine, Theegala picked up strokes on the 14th and 18th to salvage a sub-par round.

Michael Brennan, playing on a sponsor exemption after impressing on the PGA TOUR Americas, fired a superb seven-under 64 to grab a two-shot lead over defending champion Matt McCarty. Brennan, 23, is playing only his third PGA TOUR event but his first as a professional. Despite a double bogey on the second hole, he caught fire soon after, going seven-under in an eight-hole stretch.

Brennan’s rise continues a remarkable late-season run—he won three times in a four-event span on the PGA TOUR Americas and topped the season’s points list, earning one of ten Korn Ferry Tour cards available.

McCarty matched Brennan’s 64, closing with a flurry of birdies—seven in his final eight holes—to sit second at 16-under. Rico Hoey (63), Kevin Yu (63), and Pierceson Coody (66) shared third at 14-under, while Hayden Springer (62) and Thorbjørn Olesen (65) were a further shot back at 13-under.

After this week, only three tournaments remain for players to finish inside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings and retain full PGA Tour status for 2026—a number reduced from 125 last year.

--IANS

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