24-year-old Indian Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju grabbed attention on the world stage by finishing strongly with 66-68 on the weekend to finish T-5 at the US$25 million Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Florida in his tournament debut.
Born in Visakhapatnam, Yellamaraju moved to Winnipeg with his family at the age of four when his father relocated for work in information technology. Despite a hyperactive childhood, he would sit quietly whenever golf came on television, developing an early fascination with Tiger Woods.
He learned the game largely through YouTube alongside his father and has never taken a formal golf lesson. Much of his early practice came inside a domed indoor facility in Winnipeg using rented clubs.
Turning professional at 19 , skipping college, due to financial constraints, he progressed from mini tours to PGA Tour Americas and the Korn Ferry Tour before earning his PGA Tour card after finishing 19th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list in 2025.
The finish earned him approximately US$925,000 and 275 FedEx Cup points, which is a life changing figure for the young man with one of the most unlikely success stories in the world of sport.
In seven starts this season, he has missed only one cut, with another T5 finish coming earlier at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
24-year-old Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who learned to play golf via YouTube, has an outside chance at @THEPLAYERS title in his tournament debut.
Who is he?
Yellamaraju was born in India and moved with his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as a pre-schooler, where he first… pic.twitter.com/fkHLb1dqXh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2026
Photo – PGAT
