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![\"NATHAN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4131289_web1_CP174632462.jpg\")
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NATHAN DENETTE \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament, in Caledon, Ont., on Thursday, June 5, 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019ve got a lot of messages from people and kids and it kind of brought a different perspective of what I do. The idea that you could be inspiring others, it gives a different perspective for sure. It\u2019s very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yellamaraju may be classified as a rookie, but he\u2019s already showing plenty of veteran poise this season. The man known to friends as \u201cDarsh\u201d quickly went from a \u201cwho\u2019s that?\u201d to a household name among golf fans after an outstanding fifth-place finish last month at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.<\/p>\n
Often referred to as golf\u2019s unofficial \u201cfifth major,\u201d The Players saw Yellamaraju close with a strong weekend of 73-72-66-68 to earn US$925,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big event for sure, but I tried to treat it as just another event. I had to grind to make the cut on Friday and then had a really good weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a lot of confidence in myself, a lot of belief. But first you have to do something. That was huge to get that finish and it kind of changed the way I looked at what I can do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He backed it up two weeks later with a tie for sixth at the Houston Open, then a T-14 at the Texas Open. Add it all up and he\u2019s made eight of nine cuts so far, earned more than US$1.7 million, sits 27th in the FedEx Cup standings, and has climbed to 119th in the world rankings.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 That was huge to get that finish and it kind of changed the way I looked at what I can do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew the PGA Tour was big, but I didn\u2019t realize how big until after (The Players) tournament. I\u2019m just so grateful to be playing here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gratitude comes up often when Yellamaraju talks, whether it\u2019s about his parents, who immigrated to Canada from India when he was four in search of a better life, or about their decision to nurture his love of golf. Inspired early by Tiger Woods, they bought him a starter set, took him to the Golf Dome and eventually secured him a youth membership at Larters.<\/p>\n
His first competitive breakthrough came in 2012 at Tuxedo Golf Course, where at age 11 he won the 12-and-under division of the Junior Bantam Championship after back-to-back rounds of seven-over 77.<\/p>\n
The family spent seven years in Winnipeg before moving to Ontario when his father took a job in the IT sector. Yellamaraju\u2019s game took off in his teens, highlighted by a win at the 2017 Ontario Amateur as a 16-year-old, the youngest player in the field.<\/p>\n
Three years later, he turned professional, bypassing the college route due to a lack of scholarship opportunities. He earned his card on PGA Tour Canada (now PGA Tour Americas) and returned to Winnipeg in 2022 to play in the Manitoba Open before graduating to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024.<\/p>\n
That year he earned US$97,550 and finished 99th overall, retaining only conditional status. But 2025 marked his true breakthrough. A win at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, plus a third-place tie and a fourth-place finish, helped him earn US$366,201 and secure promotion to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
Safe to say he\u2019s making the most of it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t GERALD HERBERT \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n While he could be classified as a rookie, Winnipeg product Sudarshan Yellamaraju showed veteran poise by finishing fifth last month at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the money is important to kind of continue what you\u2019re doing. And the money on the PGA Tour Canada and Korn Ferry isn\u2019t sustainable unless you\u2019re literally contending every week. So this is a bit different,\u201d said Yellamaraju.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal this was year to keep my card. Now, I\u2019m focusing on trying to accumulate as many points as I can, so I could be able to pick and choose my events for next year. And then, of course, try to get into all the signature events, the majors and all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Although he didn\u2019t qualify for this year\u2019s Masters, Yellamaraju hopes to get there one day. This summer\u2019s British Open is a more immediate target, and he could force his way into the field with a few more strong finishes in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to get too far ahead of myself. I just need to focus on what I have next, and that\u2019s the RBC (this week in South Carolina),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Statistically, Yellamaraju has been solid in nearly every category, particularly off the tee and on the greens. If there\u2019s one area he wants to sharpen, it\u2019s his scrambling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to try and sustain and stay out here. It\u2019s another to keep improving and get better and trying to contend and win. That\u2019s what I want to do eventually \u2014 contend and win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Naturally quiet and admittedly shy, he\u2019s trying to keep his head down and soak up as much as he can from more experienced players on tour \u2014 including the talented fellow Canadian contingent of Corey Conners, Nick Taylor (who was born in Winnipeg but grew up in B.C.), Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson and fellow rookie A.J. Ewart.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, sometimes I have moments here or there where I stop and realize I\u2019m on the PGA Tour. I\u2019m inside the ropes. And fans are watching me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt every level I\u2019ve played, I\u2019ve had to try and learn and adapt what is required. I\u2019m still trying to learn my way around here, playing a lot of these courses for the first time, that sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Now based in Jacksonville, The Players had something of a home-field feel. His parents also flew in from Mississauga to watch him compete.<\/p>\n Among his biggest supporters is Winnipeg\u2019s Derek Ingram, who has guided Yellamaraju through Golf Canada\u2019s national programs while also coaching Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith. Yellamaraju also continues to work with second-year caddie Joel Kraft, who was on the bag for his Korn Ferry Tour win last season.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re both kind of learning together and trying to figure out what we need to do to keep improving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, sometimes I have moments here or there where I stop and realize I\u2019m on the PGA Tour. I\u2019m inside the ropes. And fans are watching me. I was the one who used to watch these players before. I just want to try and keep doing what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n www.winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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