Aaron Rai becomes first English winner in more than a century
Doug Ferguson
Aaron Rai kicked into high gear on Sunday, blasting away from a world-class field with one stunning shot after another to become the first British-born player to win the PGA Championship in more than a century.
Rai, who dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a child, was three strokes behind and approaching the corner when he gave a performance worthy of a great champion at Aronimink Golf Club.
He holed a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch where he single-putted seven straight greens to take the lead.
And on the closing holes, where competitors needed to stumble, Rai drilled a birdie putt from nearly 70 feet past the 17th green to clinch.
The 31-year-old Rai, who is among the great champions of Indian heritage alongside two-time PGA champion Vijay Singh, closed the match with a 5-under 65.
“Being here is beyond my imagination,” Rai said.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Justin Rose, all major champions; They were all in their place until they were ruined by untimely mistakes or failure to take a good look at the bird.
McIlroy, who closed with a 69, played the par 5s throughout the week and chipped away at the reachable par-4 13th for a bogey. He also looked and softly cursed at a fan who said “USA” after McIlroy hit a shot from a tight spot into the bunker on the par-5 16th. It was an indication that McIlroy knew his hopes were almost gone.
Rai, who finished the tournament with 9-271, became the first England player since Jim Barnes in 1919 to have his name named in the Wanamaker Trophy, the second edition of this major and the first since the First World War.
He won by three shots over 54-hole leader Alex Smalley and Rahm, who had his best finish in a major since moving to LIV Golf at the end of 2023. Rahm was slowed by a pair of bogeys on the front nine and managed only one birdie on the back nine for a 68.
Smalley lost the lead with a double bogey on the sixth hole, leaving it too late for his best golf. Rai already had his eye on the Wanamaker Trophy. Smalley made birdie for 70 on the 18th.
Justin Thomas holed a 16-foot par putt for 65 on the final hole, putting him ahead by one shot when the final group was on the second fairway. As Aronimink got tougher and the pressure tightened, it looked like Thomas might have a chance.
On this last day, Rai, like everything else, ended these hopes.
So we completed a very remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, during which no one could leave Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead heading into the final round was a PGA Championship record.
From that package emerged the 31-year-old Rai, who had one PGA Tour title, three on the European tour and never finished in the top 15 in any major.
He may not be well-known among casual observers, but his humility and gracious personality make him a star in the eyes of his peers.
“You won’t find a single person on the property who isn’t happy for him,” McIlroy said.
“He and his team were super excited,” Schauffele said. “The gentleman of the whole world, no doubt.”
He wore two gloves and was always training, a habit he started to combat the cold winters while training as a child in England. Even more unusual for Rai are the plastic caps on each iron, a reminder of its roots.
He once said his father made sacrifices to buy the nicest golf clubs and cleaned his son’s grooves with baby oil after he finished playing. Rai has since left the iron covers open “to remember where I came from and respect what I have.”
“Is there anyone who uses the headscarf because they coveted the irons as a child and still want to respect the equipment and still do that? Yeah, that shows a lot about a person,” Rahm said. “What he did today is something very special.”
Those seven straight one-putts included a short putt for bogey on the par-3 eighth, and Rai left his three behind Matti Schmid, who had taken the lead with three birdies in a five-hole stretch ahead.
Rai hit a 5-wood lead into the ninth with a 40-foot eagle putt. He saved par with a 10-foot putt in the 10th. He hit a wedge to 4 feet on a dangerous pin for birdie on the 11th. It was bumpy for par after the 12th green.
And on the 292-yard 13th hole, where Canadian McIlroy tripped and fell while Schauffele and Nick Taylor were in the thick of it, Rai became the first player all week to reach 7-under, blasting out of a bunker to 6 feet for birdie. And then it continued just like that.
Thomas finished fourth at 5-under 275, along with Ludvig Aberg (69) and Schmid, whose 1.5-foot par putt on the 18th hole will take him to his first Masters next year. Smith, who did not drop his shot until the 17th hole, helped McIlroy and Schauffele (69) take another shot with 68 points.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler twice missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the third hole and a 10-foot par putt on the back nine in a closing round of 69 to finish 14th; It was the first time he was outside the top 10 at a major since the 2024 US Open.
Rai now has a five-year exemption from the PGA Tour as well as the Masters, US Open and British Open. He can play the PGA Championship in his lifetime.
“Golf is a great game,” Rai said. “It teaches you a lot and it teaches you a lot of humility, discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is given in this game.”
Nothing was given to him on Sunday. Rai outlasted the strongest field in golf and won.
access point
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
