Hard work pays off for humble Englishman Aaron Rai at PGA Championship
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Aaron Rai lifting the Wanamaker Trophy after winning his first Major title at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEWTOWN SQUARE – With one sizzling round of five-under 65 at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, Aaron Rai emerged from relative obscurity to fulfil his dream of landing a Major title with a shock PGA Championship triumph.
The 31-year-old started his 13th Major as an outsider and the final round on May 17 as one of 42 players, some of them household names, within six shots of the leader.
But he kept his composure when it mattered and picked up four birdies on the back nine, including one at the 17th on the back of a 68-foot putt, to become the first Englishman in 107 years to claim the Wanamaker Trophy.
He finished on nine-under 271 overall, becoming the first champion in PGA Championship history to lower his score in each round after carding 70, 69, and 67 earlier in the tournament.
“There’s so many different things that you face, whether that is in the game, whether that is acquiring the skills, putting the time in that is required, facing all the setbacks that come along with it,” the soft-spoken Rai said.
“It is certainly a roller coaster to get to these points, and a week like this, an achievement like this, certainly makes it all feel very much worthwhile.
“It’s an absolute dream come true.”
Two-time Major champion Jon Rahm (68), who finished tied for second alongside Alex Smalley (70) on six-under 274, said Rai was renowned as one of the kindest and most respectful players on the PGA Tour.
The Englishman said that his humble outlook on life derived from his upbringing in the English Midlands as the son of migrants from India and Kenya.
“My mum and my siblings were very fast to reinforce the importance of just being a good person and trying to do the right things away from golf,” the 14-year professional said.
Aaron Rai sharing an emotional moment with his wife, Indian golfer Gaurika Bishnoi, after becoming the first Englishman in 107 years to claim the PGA Championship on May 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Rai also paid tribute to his wife, Indian golfer Gaurika Bishnoi, and his father, who was behind his habit of wearing two gloves and putting head covers on his irons as a reminder of how precious his clubs were when he was growing up.
“My dad was with me every day that I went to practise from the age of four or five years old, he actually quit his job and started to focus on my golf from a really young age,” he said.
Before turning to golf, Rai dreamed of being a Formula One driver. He started the final round two shots behind overnight leader Smalley and shifted into high gear at the par-five ninth, where he drained a 40-foot eagle putt.
“I was just trying to focus on speed. Hit a great putt, great speed, and we were lucky it went in,” he said. “Definitely helped and provided a bit of a boost to the round.”
Two holes later, he made birdie after stuffing his approach shot to four feet to grab a share of the lead with Matti Schmid. He had the outright lead shortly after when the German bogeyed the 10th.
Rai became the first player to reach seven under on the week with a birdie at the par-four 13th, where he made a sensational up-and-down from a greenside bunker to move two clear.
After Schmid got back to within one shot of the lead, the Englishman birdied the par-five 16th and then sealed the biggest win of his career with his mammoth putt at hole No. 17.
American Justin Thomas (65), Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (69) and German Matti Schmid (69) tied for fourth at five-under 275.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who won his sixth Major title at the Masters in April, shot 69 to share seventh on 276 with American Xander Schauffele (69) and Australian Cameron Smith (68).
“You won’t find one person on property that’s not happy for him,” the Northern Irishman said of Rai.
On a historic day, Kurt Kitayama of the US also fired a 63 that equalled the Major record for the lowest final-round score.
American world No. 1 and 2025 winner Scottie Scheffler closed with a 69 to finish tied-14th.
Rai took home the US$3.69 million (S$4.7 million) top prize from a record purse of US$20.5 million.
Never better than 19th in his 12 previous Major starts, he won his first PGA Tour title at the 2024 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro and his third DP World Tour title in November 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
“Golf is an amazing game,” Rai said at the trophy presentation. “It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work, because nothing is ever given in this game no matter what level you’re playing, no matter what course you’re playing on. So I think it just teaches so many amazing life skills.” REUTERS, AFP
