Sahith Theegala of Pepperdine was selected winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award, becoming the fifth player to collect all three Division I men’s college awards in the same season.
Theegala, from Chino Hills and Diamond Bar High, claimed two victories and was top-ranked ranked in the nation when the 2019-20 season was halted because of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the Waves were No. 1 in the team rankings for the first time in program history.
Earlier, Theegala received the Fred Haskins Award and the Ben Hogan Award.
After missing the 2018-19 season because of a wrist injury, Theegala returned for his redshirt senior year and was named to the All-American and All-West Coast Conference teams for the third time each after posting a school-record 69.04 scoring average, with six top-10 finishes and was in the top-20 in all eight events.
The other players to win all three major awards in the same season were Patrick Rodgers of Stanford (2014), Ryan Moore of UNLV (2005), Bill Haas of Wake Forest (2004) and Hunter Mahan of Oklahoma State (2003).
Theegala, who won four times during his Pepperdine career and was a four-time All-West selection, recently turned pro and tied for third in his debut in the Lone Tree Classic on the Outlaw Tour.
The last two weeks, he missed the cut in the Travelers Championship and the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour. He also will have sponsor exemptions in the 3M Open Championship and the Barracuda Championship.
Winning the Nicklaus Award in the lower divisions of college golf were Zach Zediker of Delta State (Division II); Rob Wuethrich of Illinois Wesleyan (Division III); Ben Rebne of Dalton State in Georgia (NAIA), and Jon Hopkins of Mississippi Gulf Coast (junior college).
