Aaron Rai wins 2026 PGA Championship by three shots with final-round 65

Heading into Sunday’s final round of the 2026 PGA Championship, it felt like it was anyone’s game, because it almost was. There was an unprecedented 21 players within four shots of 54-hole leader Alex Smalley, but it was Englishman Aaron Rai who managed to break away from the group at Aronimink and not look back on his way to becoming a major champion.

Rai, who entered the week ranked 44th in the world, was out of the gate on Sunday, but after making a 4-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, he quickly fell into the inevitable final-round jitters every player faces as he had to remain patient and accept what the golf course gave him.

Disaster quickly entered the equation after he made a poor putt on the difficult par-3 8th hole and then airmailed a bunker shot to the green, but the 31-year-old was able to turn the 4-foot putt into bogey. This was one of those momentum-saving bogeys, and the momentum was used on the next hole.

Rai reached the reachable par-5 9th hole in two and sank a 40-footer for eagle. It was a nice bonus to get into the back nine, which played as the toughest team throughout the week, but Rai did not participate in that story on Sunday.

With the entire course and the golf tournament as a whole in neutral for several hours as the final groups returned, Rai stepped on the gas.

Aaron Rai of England hits his second shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania on May 17, 2026. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images) (David Cannon/Getty Images)

JIM FURYK SAID TIGER WOODS WILL BE IN THE STAFF FOR THE 2027 RYDER CUP DESPITE HIS DUI ARREST

After getting another birdie on the par-4 11th, it was his birdie on the 299-yard par-4 13th that he could look back on the moment.

Left with a very risky bunker shot from 40 feet, Rai had the option of playing it relatively safe and putting himself 20 or more feet up the mound for birdie. Or he may fly the golf ball toward the hole, creating a slope that recedes away from the hole just beyond the flag. He didn’t hesitate and walked away from the field with another birdie and a two-shot advantage.

JON RAHM APOLOGIES AFTER HITTING A VOLUNTEER WITH A FLYING DIVOT AT THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: ‘UNFORGIVABLE’

Although the 13th hole was drivable for every player in the field, Rai’s birdie put him within a shot of many competitors on Sunday. While Nick Taylor, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele made bogey in the hole, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Smalley could not take advantage of the short hole.

Rai officially put his hand in to close the door, making one of the easiest birdies you’ll ever see by reaching the par-5 16th hole in two and officially closing it with a 68-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole.

Rai played his final 10 holes at 6-under-par with no blemishes on the scorecard, then shot a 65 and took a three-shot lead at nine under overall.

The round of five had the lowest score in a major championship by two. A major championship Sunday for the whole lap of your life is something special.

Rai is the last man standing among the likes of Ludvig Aberg, McIlroy, Rahm, Reed and Schauffele, who started the day with a three-shot lead, and he has a sense of randomness about it, which was the theme of the week at Aronimink.

England’s Aaron Rai greets the crowd on the 18th green during the final round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, 2026 in Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Heading into the week, the most common prediction was that players would be able to choose the Donald Ross-designed golf course. The lack of trees and water hazards led to a bomb and burrow approach. Or so we thought.

Rai started the week ranked 160th on the PGA Tour in average driving distance and finished the week ranked 66th in driving distance out of 82 players making the cut.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Although Rai is known as one of the shortest putters on the PGA Tour, he has also made a habit of being an incredibly streaky putter. The flat club is usually the villain for Rai, but it was his best friend throughout the week as he ranked fourth in the field in strokes gained on the green.

With his victory, Rai became the first non-American to lift the Wanamaker Trophy since Australia’s Jason Day in 2015 and the first European to find the winner’s circle at the PGA since Rory McIlroy in 2014.