Friends of Golf (FOG) to Honor PGA Tour Standout Sahith Theegala at 45th Annual Charity Tournament
Three-Time All-American at Pepperdine University to be Honored at 45th Annual Charity Tournament
Tournament Presented by Konica Minolta Set for October 20th at Bel-Air Country Club
Los Angeles, CA (May 6, 2025)—Friends of Golf (FOG) is set to honor PGA standout and Pepperdine University’s three-time NCAA All-American Sahith Theegala at its 45th annual charity tournament on October 20 at Bel-Air Country Club. Theegala will be presented with The Eddie Merrins Trophy, named after the late legendary PGA golfer, UCLA men’s golf coach and longtime teaching professional at Bel-Air Country Club, who helped launch FOG more than 40 years ago. Theegala, who won his first PGA Tour event at the 2023 Fortinet Championship, is one of only five NCAA golfers to win the Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Trophy Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award in the same year (2020). Last year, FOG honored Dottie Pepper, the 17 time winner on the LPGA Tour and longtime broadcaster at its 44th annual event. Konica Minolta is once again the Title Sponsor of FOG’s 2025 tournament, while johnnie-O is the Major Apparel Partner.
“We are thrilled to honor Sahith Theegala with The Eddie Merrins Award at our 45th annual Friends of Golf tournament,” said FOG President Peter Best. “Sahith has had a remarkable early run on the PGA Tour, and he enjoyed one of the most storied collegiate careers of all time while at Pepperdine University. He’s a local young man that has already done a lot of great work in the community and has a very bright future ahead of him.”
“It is an honor to be chosen for this award by the Friends of Golf,” said Theegala. “Growing up in Southern California, FOG was important to me and so many other young players chasing our golf dreams. Without the interest and support of FOG, many of us would not have been able to keep the dream alive.”
Originally from Chino Hills, California, Theegala began his golf career early, exhibiting great skill and early abilities on the course. He was the champion of the prestigious international Junior World Golf Championship at ages 6, 8 and 10, and had numerous victories on the AJGA Junior circuits. By the end of high school, Theegala had played in 3 U.S. Junior Amateur Championships, and won the 2010 Junior Masters.
Theegala went on to graduate from Pepperdine University, where he was the leading college golfer in the United States in 2020, and only the fifth player to receive all three of the top collegiate golf awards in one season. A four-year member of the Pepperdine golf team, he gathered four individual collegiate tournament titles, including the Alister MacKenzie and Southwestern Invitational events in 2020.
Theegala was selected three times as an All-American in college and in 2020, he was the wire-to-wire winner of the Australian Master of the Amateurs tournament at the Victoria Golf Club. In 2017, he played in the U. S. Open and PGA Tour’s Genesis Open as an amateur and was selected as a member of the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup U.S. team. Originally founded in 1979, non-profit organization FOG (www.friendsofgolf.org) has donated over $11 million to both national and local college, high school and other golf-focused organizations and has honored many of the game’s top players over the last four decades including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, Annika Sorenstam, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Lorena Ochoa, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Juli Inkster. FOG partners with the Golf Coaches Association of America and Colonial Country Club and The LPGA Foundation and Women’s Golf Coaches Association to annually honor the top collegiate male and female golfers with both The Ben Hogan Trophy and The Dinah Shore Trophy.
FOG was founded in 1979 by Merrins and a group of Los Angeles-area golfers who wanted to make it possible for aspiring junior golfers (irrespective of their economic standing) to play, compete and excel in the game of golf. Friends of Golf supports student athlete golfers by instilling the values of honesty, ethics, and fellowship with a true appreciation for the game.
ABOUT FRIENDS OF GOLF (FOG)
Originally founded in 1979, FOG has donated over $11 million to both national and Southern California college, high school and non-profit golf-focused organizations. Legendary professional golfer and Bel-Air Country Club teaching pro Eddie Merrins (“The Little Pro”) and a group of Los Angeles-area golfer helped organize FOG’s first annual golf tournament intended to benefit the neighboring UCLA men’s golf program. Since then, FOG has hosted 44 annual charity golf tournaments at Bel-Air Country Club and honored some of the game’s top stars including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, Annika Sorenstam, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Lorena Ochoa, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Juli Inkster. FOG supports student athlete golfers by instilling the values of honesty, ethics, and fellowship with a true appreciation for the game. From the time boys and girls enter grade school through the end of their college experience, FOG makes it possible for aspiring junior golfers (irrespective of economic standing) to play, compete and excel in this exceptional sport.
FOG also founded and backs a number of leading national amateur golf awards including The Ben Hogan Trophy, presented each year to the top male college golfer through a joint venture with Colonial Country Club, and The Dinah Shore Trophy, which is similarly presented to the top female golfer through a joint venture with the LPGA Foundation. Friends of Golf, Inc. is recognized as a non-profit, tax-deductible organization through Federal I.D. #95-3668541 and the State of California Franchise Tax Board Organization #1058257. (www.friendsofgolf.org)
