In a thrilling final round, Aaron Rai outperformed his competitors to secure his first PGA Tour win and the prestigious Wanamaker Trophy.
For all intents and purposes, he already had the PGA Championship won. The Wanamaker Trophy engraver was loosening up her hands and sharpening her chisel.
The 31-year-old Englishman with parents of Indian descent, who’s known as perhaps the nicest person on the PGA Tour, had already emerged from a crowded pack consisting of golf’s biggest stars to position himself as the latest PGA champion. The forever signature moment, though, came on the 17th green, where Rai rolled in a curling 68-foot birdie putt to get to 9 under par with a four-shot lead. It was the second-longest putt made all week.
When the ball disappeared into the hole, Rai just stood frozen on the green with a bewildered look on his face as massive crowds around it went as berserk as they would for a Saquon Barkley 70-yard TD run. After Rai closed things out on 18 and walked off the green clutching hands with his wife, Gaurika, he took a long look at the shiny Wanamaker Trophy, which was sitting on a stand.
“Very surreal,’’ Rai said. “It’s been a bit of a frustrating season. Standing here is definitely outside of my broadest imagination. ’’ Aaron Rai of England poses with The Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, 2026 in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Rai, who’s been known mostly for his habits of wearing two gloves and having covers for all of his irons, had one career PGA Tour win — the 2024 Wyndham Classic. In nine tournaments this year, he had only one top 10 finish — a fifth at last week’s Myrtle Beach Classic, an opposite-field event while the big boys played in the Truist Championship, the PGA Tour “signature’’ event at Quail Hollow.
Rai won’t be playing in any opposite-field events for the foreseeable future. He’s now one of the big boys, as this week changed his life.
“Golf is an amazing game,’’ Rai said. “It teaches you so much humility and discipline and hard work. Nothing is given in this game. ’’“I definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt,’’ he said.
“The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for the last 10 feet and that helped with the visual of the putt. I was just trying to put good speed on it. ’’ Aaron Rai of England and caddie Jason Timmis embrace on the 18th green during the final round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, 2026.
Rai is the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship in the stroke-play era, which began in 1958. He, too, is the first non-American to win the PGA since Aussie Jason Day won it in 2015 at Whistling Straits. The 5-under-par 65 Rai shot was the round of his life. It also happened to be the lowest round of his career in a major championship — by two shots.
Rai’s victory was highly popular in the players’ locker room.
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,’’ Rory McIlroy said after finishing tied for seventh at 4 under. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with him, but I have heard consistently there’s very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai,’’ Jon Rahm, who finished tied for second at 6 under, said. “He’s a fantastic golfer. What he did today is nothing short of special.
What Aaron did today, catching him could have been very difficult. ’’ Aaron Rai, of England, and wife Gaurika Bishnoi hold the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026. Xander Schauffele, who finished tied for seventh, called Rai an “all-world gentleman’’ and raved about his work ethic.
“I’m super happy for him,’’ Schauffele said. “He’s such a good dude. He’s always in the gym. He’s always on the range.
He puts the work in when nobody’s looking. I’m super pumped for him and his team. ’’ Matti Schmid, who finished tied for fourth at 5 under, called Rai “maybe the most hardworking guy on tour,’’ adding, “He does a lot of things the right way, and that’s why he’s the winner today. ’’ All week, the leaderboard at Aronimink resembled a typical afternoon of congestion on the Schuylkill Expressway to get into Center City Philadelphia.
Angst and aggravation were the prevailing emotions from the players, who were battered and bruised in the first two rounds by the difficult pin positions and steady wind. Entering Sunday’s final round, there was a long list of players with a legitimate chance to win, each having his own point to prove.
The leaderboard showed a who’s who of the game’s top players who began the day with a legitimate chance to win — world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy, Rahm, Schauffele, Patrick Reed, Cam Smith and 54-hole leader Alex Smalley, who entered the day with a two-shot lead. In the end, the right person and player emerged from the pack and had his name rightfully engraved on the Wanamaker.
AP Photo Aaron Rai of England poses with The Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, 2026 in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Aaron Rai of England and caddie Jason Timmis embrace on the 18th green during the final round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 17, 2026.
Aaron Rai, of England, and wife Gaurika Bishnoi hold the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026.
PGA Championship 2026 Aronimink Golf Club Newtown Pennsylvania Aaron Rai Wanamaker Trophy Golf's Biggest Stars Frustrating Season Most Lucrative Golf Tournament Grind Road To The Surface
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