RBC CANADIAN OPEN

June 11, 2026

Sudarshan Yellamaraju

TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course)

Quick Quotes

Q. How do you feel about your round?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: Score-wise obviously a lot better. Shot 2-over last year. It was a little bit inconsistent. I hit a lot of good shots, but I also hit some not good shots. That's kind of how it's been for the last few weeks, just playing good, but then also having some bad shots. So, yeah, kind of just need to be just a little more consistent if I want to play a bit better.

Q. Did you have some family here today?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: No, they said they didn't really want to be in the whole hustle and bustle, so they're probably able to watch on TV. It was a featured group, so, yeah.

Q. Do you get a special kind of charge or pleasure of playing so close to home?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: Yeah, no, I mean, I definitely felt a little more extra energy today, extra motivation. I just tried to play the best I could and it was okay. A little inconsistent, but I still have another day tomorrow.

Q. When you're coming up and living in Mississauga was this a facility you ever frequented much or practiced at?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I would say the last couple years it's been not as much because it gets so busy when I was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR now. I played the Heathlands a lot, which they had on PGA TOUR Canada. Obviously when I was at home that would be kind of the course I would play a lot more. So, yeah.

Q. Is it funny to be here? I know you were here last year, but as a TOUR player now, is it sort of jarring sometimes?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: It does feel a little like interesting to think that I'm, like I've been here a bunch of times and now I'm playing it when there's a PGA TOUR event. So, yeah, I mean, and then obviously with all the stands and stuff like that. So it does look a little different. I think that little familiarity kind of helps a bit.

Q. Obviously there's a major international soccer tournament kicking off tomorrow. Are you a soccer fan and so will you be paying close attention to how Canada does?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I am a pretty big soccer fan, yeah.

Q. Curious, obviously also it's a tradition that Canadian golf fans where red jerseys, it coincides tomorrow with Canada playing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Do you expect to -- will you be wearing red? Are you expecting to see a lot of red kit in the stands tomorrow?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: Probably. We'll see. I have a red shirt I'll wear. And for this Canada soccer, I mean, I think we should have a good chance to get through the group. I mean, obviously the only thing we can do is win, but there's a lot of good teams that are pretty good. So I think if we can get because the group then from there anything can happen.

Q. A lot has changed in the last year since you were here. How different do you feel as a golfer compared to last year and does it feel like a long time since last year or has it been sort of a quicker than a year?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I would say it has felt a little bit longer, for sure. I've learned a lot. I played a lot of tough golf courses in the meantime and a lot more PGA TOUR events. I played with a lot of good players, and kind of seeing -- just learned a lot of things. So it was kind of inconsistent today and that's something I'm kind of still trying to work on. But there was some good golf out there and I'm just kind of hoping I can keep that going.

Q. The reception from this year to last year, being I'm sure you're recognized out there. How different was that and was there any moment out here that is going to stick in your head?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: No, I think there was more crowd for not just me, for our group as well. But I think it was a little bit more watching me. So it was kind of pretty cool. A lot of people saying, Go Mississauga and all that, so that was pretty cool, for sure.

Q. The things you're learning as you go here, what sticks out?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: Well, it's a lot of things. The courses you play and the kind of golf that you got to play. Each course is different, to be fair. Last week at Muirfield Village it just was like everything has to be superb. I mean, just the main thing is just trying to be as consistent and in control as possible. Like I said, I can play a lot of good golf, but it's just kind of you need to, obviously I made a few too many mistakes and that's kind of been the case this year when I think my good rounds have had a lot of birdies and fewer mistakes, and my okay rounds just kind of still have a lot of birdies, but a few too many mistakes.

Q. When you look at those mistakes in hindsight are they mental or technique or how do you look at 'em?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: Well, I mean, I would say there's not many mental mistakes, like it's more just kind of execution in some instances, misjudgment, but that's just a part of it, right, we can't play perfect, but we're just trying to play the best that we can.

Q. I don't know if self taught is the way to describe your golf journey, but certainly a lot of access to social media and YouTube and things like that. For people who are -- and younger players, whoever, who are kind of trying to develop their game or learn about the game, what are some of the do's and dont's if you're going to do it without kind of formal instruction? How do you avoid going down the wrong rabbit hole?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I would say, first off, I'm kind of pretty self taught, even though I've looked at a lot of stuff on TV, YouTube, whatever it is. And then about trying to, I mean, this is my only thing I can say, I mean, it's just, you know, you got to just feel it out, right. Feel what works for you. Eventually kids are going to start playing the game because they want to just have fun and they want to enjoy it. And if you're wanting to just kind of keep getting better, if you're going to do it by yourself, you just, it's just trial and error and you just figure it out, practice. I spend hours and hours practicing, so maybe that's probably helped a lot.

Q. Was there a particular channel or instructor or that you kind of that resonated that you drilled down on and became your de facto coach or anything like that?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I wouldn't say instructor, just watching the golf, that's all. Then just my own trial and error and just practicing. Going after, when I was a junior, just going and just practicing as much as I can. Just practicing different shots and just figuring out what works.

Q. What role did your dad play for you in helping you along in that journey when you were first starting out?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I would say it's like we both learned the game together, because he doesn't play golf. He had really no interest in golf, to be honest, it was my own interest. So it was just kind of he was just learning through his kind of -- he played cricket growing up, so some characteristics from that. But obviously there's still a lot of things that you can't do the same way when you're playing cricket to golf. So he tried that, and then it just kind of, he also would watch as well and try to see what people would do and he kind of just, like I said, a lot of trial and error where we were just kind of learning together.

Q. It's such a hard game, so many people struggle, was there an element that you kind of learned early that kind of set you on a positive path? Like weight shift, or is there something that some people, that you just kind of took to a little bit naturally?

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I don't know, to be honest. Like I said, I've had different feels, different swings over the years. It's kind of slowly gotten more consistent rather than trying to feel like I'm doing still something different every few weeks or whatever it is. I don't know. It just was a lot of trial and error and just kind of figuring it out.

Q. I find it a bit interesting that, you know, very modern looking, watching YouTube, but kind of an old thoughts of the game, digging it out of the dirt, doing it yourself. Have you read anything, like Ben Hogan or someone like that, because they might have discovered the game more like you did than some of these other guys.

SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU: I mean, I guess a little bit, but like I said, each person's different, right. I think I just, like I said, I watched just whatever I could and just tried to see what worked. But a lot of times it was just kind of, I still have a lot of my own characteristics or my own feels in the way I'm playing. It may not be the most conventional way, but I kind of figure it out.