The next four rounds could be the most important stretch of golf in the career of Sudarshan Yellamaraju.
The Toronto product tees of Thursday in French Lick, Ind., at the final stop on the Korn Ferry Tour. The top 20 golfers at the end of this week will graduate to next year’s PGA Tour. In other words, this could be a career-changing event.
Yellamaraju sits precariously in the 20th and final spot after a season that has had more highs and lows than a roller coaster.
He won his second start of the season, the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, but also missed the cut in eight other tournaments, including three of his past four starts. He added three solid top 10s after his win, scattered throughout the year.
Taking a circuitous route to the top is nothing new for the 24 year old. He was born in Visakhapatnam, India, and moved to Winnipeg where he started playing golf with a set of plastic clubs, before eventually graduating to hitting balls in an indoor dome.
He learned not at the hands of a professional but by watching YouTube videos as well as the PGA Tour on television. Showing some signs of talent, he attended a Future Links golf camp where he progressed quickly.
When he was 11, the family moved to Mississauga, Ont., where he was able to grow his game and compete in local tournaments. He turned professional at age 19, passing on university because his family couldn’t afford it.
Now Yellamaraju has a chance to take the final step to the top of golf ranks, but he’ll need four solid rounds to do it. It won’t be easy, with plenty of talent just above and just below him on the points list, many of whom have already tasted a season or two on the PGA Tour.
Not far behind Yellamaraju is another Canadian with a shot at a PGA Tour card. Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., sits in 29th spot. He won the Wichita Open back in June to vault up the leaderboard and will likely need to finish fourth or better to earn one of the 20 spots available.
