Seemingly out of nowhere, Canadian golfer Sudarshan Yellamaraju ended up tied for fifth place at The Players Championship over the weekend.
Firing a final round 68, Yellamaraju finished nine-under-par for the tournament, securing a place in the top five alongside Ludvig Aberg and Jacob Bridgeman.
That result earns Yellamaraju a very healthy payday indeed, as well as FedEx Cup points that will set up his season (and subsequent seasons) nicely.
The $25m prize purse at The Players Championship includes a whopping $4.5m for the winner and $2.75m for the runner up.
Had Yellamaraju finished solo fifth, he would have scooped over $1m, but he still walked away with $925,000 after splitting his winnings three ways.
Incredibly, that sum is more than he's earned in his entire career to date before this weekend.
While he was on the Korn Ferry Tour, Yellamaraju earned $467,941 across 48 events. Since joining the PGA Tour, he had earned $358,940, making it a total of $826,881 across the two tours.
This life-changing reward from TPC Sawgrass is obviously huge, but getting 275 FedEx Cup points will also make a massive difference for the 24-year-old, who is now well-placed to not only retain his Tour card, but also gain access to plenty of new events.
Reflecting on his experience over the past weekend, Yellamaraju told the press: "I'm tired. It was a long week. I'm pretty happy with how it went.
"Obviously to kind of grind to make the cut, and then I just kind of wanted to play the best golf I could on the weekend. I think I kind of exceeded what I thought I could do."
He admitted he never believed he would be close to winning The Players Championship, but is pleased that he came close.
Yellamaraju added: " I never thought I was going to have a chance to win, to be honest. I would have to do something miraculous, and I almost did.
"I just wanted to play one shot at a time and play the best golf I could because this course is so tough and you've got to stay patient and just keep grinding."
Looking ahead, he suggested this impressive finish can be a platform to build upon.
"I know I can compete and contend, and I have a lot of belief in myself, but that results-based confidence is something you can't match," he said. "Once you do something, you know you can do that or better. Obviously wherever I finish, I know I can do that, and then kind of move up from there."
