Visakhapatnam-born Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju with the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic trophy after his maiden Korn Ferry Tour win on Wednesday. Image courtesy PGA Tour/Getty Images.
By Rahul Banerji
India-born Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju scored an impressive five-shot victory at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club on Wednesday for his maiden Korn Ferry Tour victory.
The 23-year-old Yellamaraju closed with a bogey-free 8 under par 64 with eight birdies to post an aggregate of 25 under 263 (70-64-65-64) and break the tournament record by a staggering seven shots, the PGA Tour said.
Scotland’s Russell Knox (69-65-69-65), a two-time PGA Tour winner, and Japan’s Kensei Hirata (71-63-67-67), making his KFT debut, were tied for second behind the Visakhapatnam-born Canadian.
Behind them, Dubai-based KFT rookie Rayhan Thomas (T7, 17) under record his first top 10 result, firing a bogey-free final round of 7 under 65.
“It feels great. I mean, feels good that the hard work and all the hours that I’ve put in, me and my parents, has kind of paid off,” said Yellamaraju later.
The career breakthrough moved him up to second on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, with the top 20 at the end of the season earning PGA Tour cards for next year.
Yellamaraju earned starts in the first eight events of the 2025 season following a T36 finish at Final Stage of 2024 Tour Q-School in December.
Flawless golf
Holding a one-shot overnight lead, the left-hander produced flawless golf by turning in 31 to separate himself from the chasing pack before cruising home with three more birdies for a stylish victory.
The triumph was made even sweeter as Sudarshan was bogey-free through his last 52 holes, after the second hole of the second round.
“I knew guys were going to come out firing and scoring. So I knew I had to just keep going because they’re pretty good players. I just wanted to play good shots. Whatever it was, just wanted to shoot as low as possible and think I did a pretty good job,” he said.
Born in Visakhapatnam, Yellamaraju’s family moved to Canada when he was four years old. He had shown interest in the sport while still in India when his father had golf on the TV back home.
“My dad would put golf on the TV just kind of as a pastime. The only time I would sit still and not be a crazy mess around the house would be when I watch golf and just sit beside him.,
“My mom saw it and she’s like, he seems to intrigued. I don’t know what it was, maybe it was just the colours or something. They eventually got a plastic set and I was just hitting it around the house and I loved it.
Long journey
“Eventually when we moved to Canada, I got into it. They only got into it because I did and had an interest. Yeah, it’s been quite the journey since then, for sure,” said Yellamaraju, who turned professional in 2021.
With his father celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, Yellamaraju, who now lives in Mississauga, Canada, paid tribute to his parents’ support and dedication in helping him pursue his golf dreams.
“I just saw the biggest grin on his face I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s special,” Yellamaraju said of his video call with his father.
“First off, he said it the best, it’s very rare to have a tournament in January that we play and it’s on his birthday in a final round. It just kind of fell all into place.
“I guess it was just meant to be, to have it be done, my first big win on his birthday. They’ve put in so much, a lot of sacrifices and a lot of support getting me to be where I am. They’ll hopefully continue for the future and I can’t wait to see them tomorrow.”
Also read: Korn Ferry playing status for Dubai-based Indian Rayhan Thomas
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.