The 26-year-old golfer finished third behind event victor Scottie Scheffler and Colin Morakawa, his final score of -24, leaving him six strokes behind the leader but five ahead of Russell Henley, Adam Scott, and Xander Scahuffele - who all tied for fourth.
This PGA Tour result marked one of the most impressive performances of Theegala's career, even though the star imposed a two-shot penalty on himself during Saturday's third round. In a commendable move, Theegala informed a referee that he had disturbed some sand on his backswing in a fairway bunker on the par-four third hole.
Despite this, he still walked away with a cheque worth $7.5 million from the PGA Tour's richest event. However, he wasn't about to upgrade the flight seats for him and Juju Julianna on their journey home. Juju expressed her dissatisfaction on social media, revealing her partner was "being financially responsible or whatever."
But she clearly wasn't thrilled with his frugal approach to spending, posting a TikTok video to demonstrate how a lack of space was causing discomfort.
"When my boyfriend wins $7.5million in FedEx Cup and we don't fly private home," she said. "My shoulder is dislocated literally, really badly, and I'm in pain all the time. See this arm, this is far as I can reach it and the same with this side over here."
Juju, a familiar face supporting Theegala at tour events, seemed to be joking about her injuries as her right arm wasn't in a sling. However, she was understanding of his candidness on Saturday, which may have cost him an additional $5 million since he finished just two shots behind runner-up Morikawa.
Theegala himself voiced no regrets about the situation, commenting: "So I am glad I brought it up right away. I know the rules of golf a little bit better now. There is a lot of silly stuff you can do in the bunker.
"You can chuck a club in the bunker, you can use your golf club as a stand in the bunker. As long as it's not right next to your ball. There's a lot of things you can do. But unfortunately if it's in the area affecting the lie and the swing of your shot, regardless of intent, it's a two-shot penalty."
Now sitting at a career-best No. 11 on the world leaderboard, Theegala's only PGA Tour victory came with the Fortinet Championship last September. That victory followed his personal best performance in a major, securing ninth place at the Masters.
This season saw him placing tied for 12th at the US PGA. Eyes are on Theegala as a serious contender for the Ryder Cup in 2025, with the event hosted at Bethpage come next September.
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