Sudarshan Yellamaraju secures emphatic five-shot win at Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club

Sudarshan Yellamaraju, an Indian-born Canadian, romped to an impressive five-shot victory at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club on Wednesday to secure his maiden Korn Ferry Tour victory.

The 23-year-old Yellamaraju fired a closing 8-under 64, highlighted by eight birdies against no bogeys, to post a winning aggregate of 25-under 263, breaking the tournament record by a staggering seven shots. Scotland’s Russell Knox (65), a two-time PGA TOUR winner, and Japan’s Kensei Hirata (67), who is making his KFT debut, finished tied second.

“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 a jubilant Yellamaraju.

The career breakthrough moved him up to No. 2 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, with the top-20 players 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 PGA TOUR Q-School in December.

Holding a one-shot overnight lead, the left-handed golfer produced another day of flawless golf by turning in 31 to separate himself from the chasing pack before cruising home with three more birdies for a stylish victory. His triumph was made even sweeter as he was bogey-free through his last 52 holes, since 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, India, 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. 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.”

2025 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club

(2nd of 26 events on 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Schedule)

Tournament Media Site | Interview Transcripts

Final-Round Notes – Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Weather: Partly cloudy and light showers. High of 76. Wind N/NW at 8-13 mph, gusts up to 20 mph.

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Charting the Champion (stats updated through tournament)

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