First Round Recap: Sponsor Exemption Sahith Theegala Leads, Play Suspended Due to Darkness

First Round Recap: Sponsor Exemption Sahith Theegala Leads, Play Suspended Due to Darkness

Fans who made it out to Thursday’s first round of the 2022 WM Phoenix Open were graced with perfect weather and arguably the best field in tournament history. The round was suspended due to darkness at 6:23 p.m., but as it stands right now, many of the PGA TOUR’s brightest stars – and a few familiar faces at the WM Phoenix Open – sit atop the leaderboard. K.H. Lee, who finished T2 at last year’s tournament, is in solo second place after five birdies and an eagle with one bogey blemish to finish the round 6-under par. Lee’s 2021 runner-up counterpart Xander Schauffele is three shots off the pace at 4-under, tied with World No. 1 Jon Rahm. Two-time and defending champion Brooks Koepka finished T3 at 5-under. But the surprise of the day is current leader Sahith Theegala – a 24-year-old former Pepperdine All-American and The Thunderbirds third sponsor exemption – who fired seven birdies and no bogeys to finish the day 7-under par before his round was suspended through 16 holes.

Players who did not finish will resume in position at 8 a.m. Second-round pairings will begin as scheduled at 7:15 a.m.

Pairings will be the same for Friday’s round with tee times starting at 7:15 a.m. Those who started on No. 1 tee will start on No. 10 tee and vice versa. Click the button below to see the full list of pairings.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WM PHOENIX OPEN FRIDAY PAIRINGS


A look ahead to the upcoming 2024 Masters Tournament!