Abaco Club (Bahamas), Jan 23 (PTI) Indian-born Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju achieved a big career breakthrough, clinching a five-shot victory at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic here.

This is Yellamaraju's maiden win on the Korn Ferry Tour, which is the second rung to the PGA Tour.

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Another Indian-origin player, Dubai-based Rayhan Thomas, shot a final round of 7-under 65 on Wednesday to finish Tied 7th, his first top-10 on the Korn Ferry Tour. Last week, Thomas was T-27 at the Bahamas Golf Classic.

The 23-year-old southpaw, Yellamaraju, who was born in Visakhapatnam before moving to Canada at the age of four, fired a closing 8-under 64, highlighted by eight birdies as he posted a winning total of 25-under 263.

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He broke the tournament record by a seven shots.

Sotland'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.

Yellamaraju is the second Indian-origin golfer to win in the Bahamas. Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, now a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, won the Bahamas Great Exhuma Classic in 2022. Bhatia rose to top-25 in world rankings and is a regular on the PGA Tour.

"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.

"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 watched golf and just sit beside him.

"My mom saw it and she's like, 'he seems so 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 (parents) 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.

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 (father's) face I've ever seen in my life. It's special," Yellamaraju said about his video call with his father.

"It's very rare to have a tournament in January that we play and it's on his (father's) birthday in a final round. It just, kind of, fell in 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."

Starting with a one-shot overnight lead, Yellamaraju produced bogey-free golf by turning in 31 to separate himself from the chasing pack before cruising home with three more birdies for a stylish victory.

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.

The win moved him 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 the Final Stage of 2024 PGA Tour Q-School in December.

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