Sudarshan Yellamaraju has emerged as one of the most promising young golfers after last week. At the age of 24, Yellamaraju competed in his first Players Championship, where he dominated the maximum leaderboard and finished tied for fifth place with a total score of nine under par. His performance was flawless, even finishing in the final round with a score of four under par with six birdies and two bogeys.

Despite being from a small home, Sudharshan Yellamaraju has one of the most inspiring stories in the game’s history. The golfer did not come from a golfing family, and his father, who moved from India to Canada when he was 4, was only a small golf fan who used to watch the European Tour on Sundays. Yellamaraju became interested in the game after that and, at only 6, started going to indoor golf courses to hit some shots with his dad.

From there on, the Canadian golfer desired to pursue the game, but due to his instability, he never attended a single golf academy. Instead, the golfer self-taught the game and polished his talents by viewing YouTube footage of some of the game’s best players, including Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson. Yellamaraju started copying the styles of all these golfers before emerging into the golf scene with his talent.

Surprisingly, before the 2026 Players Championship began, Sudarshan Yellamaraju had earned a total career earnings of $826,881. However, after finishing tied for fifth at TPC Sawgrass, he earned a total of $925,000, which is far more than his total career earnings for only four days of play.

How did Sudarshan Yellamaraju earn his PGA Tour card?

Sudarshan Yellamaraju began playing golf at the age of six and participated in his first tournament when he was nine years old. It was an 18-hole event called Pet The Fried Egg. Yellamaraju was completely raw at the time, with no coaching or teaching, and he got 101 in his round, his only score above 100 to date. He worked hard to improve his talents before breaking through in amateur competition by winning the Ontario Men’s Amateur at the age of 16.

Due to a weak financial background, Yellamaraju skipped college and turned professional in 2021, when he was 19 years old, and began playing on the PGA Tour Canada. After two seasons there (2023 and 2024), the golfer went on to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025. His major breakthrough on the PGA Tour’s developing circuit occurred at the 2025 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, where he finished 25 under par, winning the whole thing.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju won by a bare margin, finishing the tournament only one shot clear of the field after birdieing the last hole of his final round. With his outstanding performance, Yellamaraju finished 19th on the Korn Ferry Tour season-long rankings, putting him in contention for a PGA Tour card. Despite becoming a PGA Tour golfer, he still does not have a swing coach, and his father watches over him after watching films.

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