Tiger Woods may not be able to join the field at the Riviera Golf Course next week. But he is still making sure to leave an impact as the host of the Genesis Invitational. The Big Cat elects a special candidate to receive the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption every season. And this year, he has chosen a rising star who has earned Woods’ faith.

As tweeted by Underdog Golf, “Sahith Theegala receives Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption for next week’s Genesis Invitational.”

Theegala has shown tremendous growth ever since he received his PGA Tour card in 2020. He has already won one title while also gathering four runner-ups, two third-place, and a total of 13 top-5 finishes.

However, the 28-year-old didn’t have the best time on the Tour last season. 2025 was packed with injuries for him as he missed a lot of action. Even the events that he did participate in, he played through an injury. That made it difficult for him to finish within the top-10 of the leaderboard consistently.

The one-time PGA Tour champion is known for always remaining in contention. Even though he hasn’t won much, he has still managed to get some great finishes in nearly 25% of the events he has played. But 2025 was a different story for him as he barely finished within the top-25 twice. That pushed him out of the qualification spot for Signature events this year.

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But Woods knows that Theegala is a great golfer. He also chose to mentor his junior pro during the 2024 Hero World Challenge. And the 15-time major winner doesn’t shy away from giving someone the opportunity they deserve. That’s why Danny List was also awarded the same exemption last season.

Speaking about selecting Theegala, Woods said, “During Charlie’s playing days, all he wanted was an opportunity to compete with the best players in the world so he could showcase his game, and Sahith shares those same characteristics.”

“I am proud to welcome Sahith to the field for The Genesis Invitational, a tournament that shares a lot of meaning for us both.”

This shows that he has faith in Theegala’s abilities. Now it’s up to the 28-year-old to prove Woods right.

Interestingly, Theegala has already showcased why he deserves a spot in the $20 million Signature event this season.

What made Tiger Woods choose Sahith Theegala for the 2026 Genesis Invitational exemption?

It’s true that Tiger Woods and Sahith Theegala share a great mentor-mentee relationship. However, it’s fair to say that the 28-year-old still earned the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption on merit. Not only based on his abilities, but also on the form he has been in recently.

“I told you time and time again, we do not give up on Sahith,” Theegala’s fiancée, Julianna ‘Juju’ Chan, said recently. And the PGA Tour pro has proven her right.

Now that he has fully recovered from his injury, Theegala is back to dominating the golf course again. He has managed to grab two top-10 finishes in 2026 already in tough fields that included Scottie Scheffler.

He’s getting close to winning his second PGA Tour title with every passing event. It won’t come as a surprise if he breaks his winless streak in 2026.