Yellamaraju three – Sudarshan Yellamaraju backed up Saturday’s surge at the RBC Canadian Open to enter Sunday’s finale three shots behind Jackson Suber. The Ontario star is riding a 5-under 65 at TPC Toronto after his best putting day of the week and aims for a breakthrough that
CALEDON, Ont. — Sudarshan Yellamaraju felt the lead building in quiet moments on a Saturday afternoon at the RBC Canadian Open, even if it didn’t look like a surprise on his face. The PGA Tour rookie has always believed he could contend. He just had to make it happen.
He did it late at TPC Toronto. holding the lead alone before the round slipped sideways at the worst possible time. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 threatened to drain the momentum, but he steadied himself for his closing hole. A two-putt birdie got him home with a 5-under 65, his third straight round in the 60s at the North Course.
Sunday’s finale begins with Yellamaraju three shots back of the lead held by Jackson Suber. Bud Cauley sits a shot further back at 12 under. Four golfers are at 11 under. including Tommy Fleetwood. who lost in a playoff to Nick Taylor in 2023. and Wyndham Clark. whose 7-under 63 on Saturday was the round of the day. Clark has gone 1-3 in his last two PGA Tour starts.
After 54 holes, 10 golfers are within three of the lead, so the leaderboard is set up for movement from start to finish.
Yellamaraju’s swing stayed solid through three days, but Saturday belonged to the putter. He said it was his best day, by far, with the flat stick in the third round. When he finished, he was 13th in strokes gained: putting — a stark contrast to being 117th after Thursday’s opener. He made a couple of long putts, he said, and also missed a few chances. He knew Saturday’s round could have been even better. Still, he kept the score moving in the right direction.
“Everything was pretty good. I definitely made some more putts today than I did yesterday. Yesterday I hit it really good. Today it was maybe not as good as yesterday, but the putts were pretty good and that’s why the score was good,” Yellamaraju said.
The stakes for the Canadian rookie are more than just a shot at the top of the board. This week, it’s tied to the biggest milestone he can chase on the PGA Tour. His rookie campaign has already been strong: he started the PGA Tour season with a tie for 13th at the Sony Open. then followed with back-to-back top-10 finishes at The Players Championship and the Texas Children’s Houston Open. His tie for fifth at The Players was the best result at The Players by a PGA Tour rookie in almost a decade-and-a-half — with David Lingmerth finishing tied for second in 2013 — and it was also his first career top-10 result on the PGA Tour. It remains the best result by a Canadian at The Players since Stephen Ames’ win in 2006.
He has now recorded six top-20 finishes and is Canada’s top-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings at No. 48.
This week in Ontario, Yellamaraju has also drawn a kind of crowd warmth that feels earned rather than manufactured. He grew up in Mississauga, and his family immigrated from India when he was just a boy. Before landing in Ontario, he spent some time in Winnipeg. On No. 14 — The Rink hole this week — fans sang ‘O Canada’ for him. and calls of “Sauga City!” and “One of us!” echoed through parts of the afternoon.
“I was just trying to focus as much as I could, like I always do. But I was definitely hearing it out there and it felt good, for sure,” he said.
The leaderboard tension will be tested again on Sunday, too. The Canadian Open is heading toward a rainy grind. and tee times were moved up by tournament organizers in hopes of skirting serious storms expected to blow through the Greater Toronto Area. Fleetwood. one of the players in the thick of the pack at 11 under. knows what that means for everyone chasing a finish.
“It will be a different golf course and a different challenge,” Fleetwood said. “You just have to be ready for whatever the golf course is going to bring and whatever challenge that is.
“I think we just have to be ready for what is to come tomorrow and know that you’re going to go out there for 18 holes, and 18 holes in a battle, really.”
For Canadians behind Yellamaraju, the weekend still holds plenty of promise. Matt Anderson, who was one of the first-round leaders, sits at 8 under. Adam Hadwin is at 7 under and has a prime chance to record his best PGA Tour finish this season. Hadwin is tied with amateur Justin Matthews — who counts TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley his home course and has already locked up the Gary Cowan medal as the low amateur after being the only Canadian non-pro to make the cut — as well as Taylor Pendrith.
In total, 10 Canadians made it to the weekend at the Canadian Open, the most since 1969. The Canadian contingent is topped by Yellamaraju heading into Sunday, just one great day away from notching his best-ever PGA Tour finish at a course he already knows well.
His pro journey began at this very venue in 2022, when he Monday qualified for the Osprey Valley Open on the then-PGA Tour Canada.
“It would be pretty cool if I can (do) something tomorrow where this is kind of pretty much where it all started,” Yellamaraju said. “I’m focusing on trying to play the best I can and if it ends up being the result I want, then that’s good.”
RBC Canadian Open Sudarshan Yellamaraju PGA Tour TPC Toronto Jackson Suber Bud Cauley Tommy Fleetwood Wyndham Clark Matt Anderson Adam Hadwin Justin Matthews Taylor Pendrith Canadian Open leaderboard
Three shots back… sounds like he just needs to not mess up one hole lol.
I don’t even follow golf like that but why does it say “RBC” like that’s gonna affect the putts? Banks paying for greens now?
Wait so the guy was leading “alone” and then got like randomly screwed by Nos. 16 and 17? That’s weird because I thought putting matters most, but apparently he’s also 117th after Thursday?? Makes no sense to me.
Canadian Open leaderboard always looks like a jam session. One day you’re 5-under and the next you’re doing back-to-back bogeys. I swear Wyndham Clark just collapses late, like he’s allergic to Sunday. Also “TPC Toronto” sounds like a suburb name not a course, but whatever.