Sat. Dec 14th, 2024

PGA Championship 2024: Sahith Theegala ‘couldn’t really breathe’ after this recent freak injury

By admin May19,2024

Sahith Theegala currently sits tied for second at the PGA Championship.

Two weekends ago, he could barely breathe.

Theegala revealed Thursday, after his opening 6-under 65 at Valhalla, that he dislocated a rib on his upper-left side the Saturday prior to last week’s Wells Fargo Championship.

“I slipped a rib … and wasn’t sure I was going to play,” Theegala said. “I immediately called my chiro and got three really painful adjustments to get it back in place and couldn’t really breathe or move all Saturday and Sunday. But I traveled Monday, knowing that I’ve done it before, and it’s healed in a week or two. So, I figured with some aggressive rehab, it was going to heal quickly.”

Theegala said he injured himself sitting down in a golf cart “a little bit aggressively.” He felt a pinch right under his left shoulder blade, though tests revealed the area of dislocation area was fine; there was just stiffness around it.

By the time the tournament started at Quail Hollow, Theegala was about 80-90%, he says. When he got to Saturday at the no-cut signature event, he was fully healthy.

“It felt weird…,” Theegala said. “I had my full range of motion and all that back, and I didn’t know where to hit the ball at that point.”

Theegala, who finished T-52 at the 68-man tournament, hasn’t had any setbacks since. He birdied five holes in a row, starting at No. 7, on Thursday at Valhalla, and he’s just three shots off Xander Schauffele’s lead.

“Knock-on-wood, I’ve never had low back issues,” Theegala said. “I’ve never really had back issues to begin with, really. It’s just kind of a freak thing. And now that it’s happened twice in the past couple years, it’s just a level of – I just need to focus on a little bit more, just strengthen the back muscles a little bit so that sucker doesn’t pop out again.

“Luckily, I’ve talked to some people, and it’s nothing. It’s really nothing. It’s just I’ve got to be more on top of that area.”

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