Yellamaraju learned to play golf by watching YouTube videos of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson
Sudarshan Yellamaraju does not have the longest name in the Players Championship field. With 20 letters in his name, second to Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa, with 22 letters.
But Bezuidenhout missed the cut, so Yellamaraju takes over as the longest name in the weekend field.
He made the most of it in the third round on March 14 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. After starting at 1-over 145 and in a tie for 51st, he birdied four holes in a row, with putts of 6 feet at No. 3, 5 feet at No. 4, a 20-foot roll at No. 5, then a lengthy 34-footer at No. 6, and went on to post a bogey-free 66 and a 54-hole total of 5-under-par 211.
“Early it was pretty solid, to be honest,” he said after the round. “I’ve been kind of playing so-so golf. I knew my good game had not come yet. I knew I had to stay patient. Today, kind of, finally it came and hopefully that will carry over to tomorrow.”
Yellamaraju’s early birdie run ended with the miss of a 14-foot birdie attempt at No. 7. He made two easy birdies on the back nine with two-putts at the par-5 11th and 16th. He hit 9 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens.
Who is Sudarshan Yellamaraju?
His hometown in India is longer than his name: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. But his family moved to Winnipeg, Canada, when he was 4 years old and he now lives in a town with another long name: Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
Yellamaraju said he learned about golf by watching YouTube videos of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson with his father. He began playing the game at an indoor facility when he was 6, using rental sets. He finally got a full set of clubs when he was 9 and rapidly progressed through the Canadian junior ranks.
He’s never had a full-time swing coach and turned pro at the age of 19.
Yellamaraju had a strong finish in Players second round
Yellamaraju birdied three of his last four holes in the second round to make the cut by one shot.
“I never gave up, I fought to the end,” he told the Toronto Sun. “It was obviously tough. Difficulty-wise this tournament is definitely the hardest tournament I’ve played. My game isn’t really where I want it at the moment, but if I’m playing like this and still making cuts that’s pretty decent. Who knows what I’ll do when I’m playing my best.”
Yellamaraju is 24 years old and gained PGA Tour status this season when he finished 19th on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour points list. He won early on the Korn Ferry Tour last season at the Great Abacos Classic, where he had two rounds of 64 and another 65.
Yellamaraju, ranked 216th in the world, is having a solid season on the PGA Tour so far. He’s made five of seven cuts and entered Players week 63rd on the FedEx Cup points list. His best finish was a tie for 13th at the Sony Open.
He’s earned $358,940, and no matter where he finishes The Players, Yellamaraju will surpass the $366,201 he earned on the Korn Ferry Tour last season.