Aaron Rai produced one of the great major championship performances to win the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, the 31-year-old Englishman draining a 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to finish nine under par, three shots clear of Jon Rahm and overnight leader Alex Smalley.
“Extremely rewarding, extremely challenging,” Rai told Golf Channel at the trophy ceremony. “It is certainly a rollercoaster to get to these points. It’s an absolute dream come true.”
The Wolverhampton-born Rai, ranked 44th in the world heading into the week and best known for the quirk of wearing two gloves – a habit formed playing in cold English winters as a child – closed with a five-under 65 to become the first Englishman to win the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919.
“It’s such an amazing journey to get to this point,” Rai added. “There’s so much that goes into it. It’s still hard for me to get my head around it because I also think what’s required to perform in a tournament like this is very different. Having a larger view of things, a larger perspective on the journey to this point, you have to stay extremely present, extremely focused on what’s in front of you.”
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A historic put on 17
The biggest moment of Rai’s round came on the 17th green. Holding a two-shot lead and needing simply to par in, Rai stood over a 68-foot birdie putt and drained it – the second-longest putt made by any player all week.
“Definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt,” he said with a grin. “The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for the last 10 feet. It just tracked really well – it was amazing to see it go in.”
Rai had bogeyed three of his first eight holes and seemed to be drifting out of contention before birdies on the 11th and 13th moved him clear, a tap-in birdie on the par-five 16th extended his lead, and then the impossible putt on the 17th put the outcome beyond any serious doubt.
When the final putt dropped, Rai seemed momentarily unsure what to do – no fist pump, no wave. He wobbled briefly, then turned to his playing partner Ludvig Aberg, removed his cap and shook his hand. Aberg reflected on it afterwards, saying: “He’s got a putt to win his first major and he still said ‘good putt’ to me. He’s taking time to look me in the eye and say well done.”
McIlroy and Rahm rue missed chances
The major storyline of the week had been Rory McIlroy’s bid to complete a Masters and PGA Championship double not achieved since Jack Nicklaus in 1975. He closed with a one-under 69 to finish four under, five shots off the pace, and was honest about where his round unravelled.
“I’m proud that I gave myself a chance. But there are three holes I’ll rue – not birdieing the two par fives and then making bogey at the driveable par-four. Those three holes cost me a chance to win.
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him (Rai).”
Rahm birdied the first two holes to momentarily share the lead but dropped shots at the third and seventh and could not recover.
He finished in a tie for second alongside Smalley, who had led entering the final round but could not maintain his edge.
Rahm added his own tribute: “I have heard consistently there’s very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai. Anybody that wears head covers on his irons because he coveted them when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment – and still does it? That says everything.”
Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg and Matti Schmid shared fourth on five under. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and world number one, finished in a tie for 14th after a week in which he missed 13 putts inside of ten feet.
The win means UK golfers have claimed both of the year’s first two majors, following McIlroy’s Masters victory in April. The Open at Royal Birkdale in July now beckons, with Europe looking to make it three out of three for the year.
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