This paper considers the design of a static output feedback (SOF) H_\infty controller for a polynomial Takagi-Sugeno (T–S) system in the continuous-time setting. The sought SOF controller guarantees asymptotic stability and H_\infty performance of the closed-loop system. Sufficient conditions for the existence of such SOF controllers are derived, in the form of sum-of-squares (SOS) using polynomial Lyapunov functions (PLF). These conditions do not include an iterative algorithm or an equality constraint which leads to a more tractable solution. The proposed gain is obtained by means of less conservative conditions than existing ones. This is illustrated through some numerical examples which demonstrate, at the same time, the applicability of the suggested design approach.