Why PGA Tour star Sahith Theegala ‘almost fainted’ after Tiger Woods birthday gift

World No 12 Sahith Theegala joked that he ‘almost fainted’ after a birthday ‘present’ from Tiger Woods in the Caribbean.

Theegala, who turned 27 on Wednesday, is in the Bahamas ahead of this week’s Hero World Challenge, a tournament hosted by Woods.

His girlfriend Juju R. Chan posted a picture on Instagram, showing Theegala arm-in-arm with Woods in Albany.

This is your present,’ she captioned the image. Chan also posted a screenshot of two text messages from her boyfriend.

‘Tiger just came and dapped me up and said happy bday big dog,’ Theegala wrote. ‘I almost fainted’. Earlier on Thursday, Theegala was treated to a birthday cake after his pre-tournament press conference.

Woods, a 15-time major champion, became a meme last year after a clip emerged of him greeting his son Charlie’s young caddie by shaking his hand and calling him ‘big dog’.

Woods pulled out of playing in the Hero World Challenge this week but he is still in Bahamas for the tournament, which kicks off on Thursday and features 20 of the world’s top players.

Woods has not played since bombing out of the Open Championship at Royal Troon and undergoing microdecompression surgery on his back in September.

The 15-time major winner was asked this week if he had a target in mind to return to the course. But, in a worrying update, Woods admitted: ‘I don’t’

He said: ‘I’m just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off. I don’t want to have any setbacks, just want to keep making progress and give myself the best chance going into next year as possible.

‘I feel like I’m getting stronger, I’m getting more pliable, but I’ve got a long way to go to be able to compete against these guys.’

‘I’m not tournament sharp yet,’ he added. ‘I’m still not there. These are 20 of the best players in the world and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will.’