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Mark Schlabach
Multiple Authors
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Until Sunday, Aaron Rai was best known for being the PGA Tour golfer who played with two gloves.
Now, Rai will be remembered as the first English-born golfer to win the PGA Championship in more than a century after his stunning victory at Aronimink Golf Club.
In a final round in which none of the game’s biggest stars seemed capable of taking control, Rai finally did and won the Wanamaker Trophy with a 5-under 65. His 72-hole total of 9-under 271 was three strokes better than Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.
After making a couple of big mistakes on the front nine, Rai made an eagle on the par-5 ninth and four birdies on the back without a bogey to pull away from a loaded field.
“I’m super happy for him,” two-time major champion Xander Schauffele said. “He’s such a good dude. Rarely do you feel like people work way harder than you. I feel like I’ve played a pretty good amount of time, and Aaron is always there. He’s always in the gym. He’s always on the range. I think that’s what it’s about to be a major champion. You put the work in when nobody’s looking.”
Rai’s knockout blows came on back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. He sank a 68½-footer on the par-3 17th — the second-longest putt made by any player in the field this week — to briefly go four strokes in front.
He became the first English-born golfer to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes captured the first two tournaments in 1916 and 1919, which were both match-play competitions.
Rai’s victory ended a 10-year streak of American golfers winning the Wanamaker. Australia’s Jason Day was the previous non-American to win the PGA when he triumphed at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2015.
It’s the first time European golfers have won the first two majors of the season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy won the Masters for a second straight year in April.
“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,” Rahm said. “Anybody that wears or uses head covers on his irons because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment so much, and to still do it? … It shows a lot about a person.
“I have heard absolutely nothing but good or great things about Aaron Rai. He’s been playing great golf. He’s a fantastic golfer. What he did today is nothing short of special.”
Rai, who is ranked 44th in the Official World Golf Ranking, started the final round two strokes behind Smalley, the 54-hole leader. Rai quickly cut his deficit to one when he made a 4-foot birdie on his opening hole.
Following a bogey on No. 3 and another birdie on No. 4, Rai seemed to be in trouble when he carded two more bogeys on Nos. 6 and 8. He was three strokes behind Matti Schmid of Germany, who had grabbed the lead with three birdies in five holes.
But Rai bounced back quickly on the ninth. After blasting his drive 330 yards down the left side of the fairway, he hit his approach 273 yards to the right side of the green. He sank a 40-foot putt for eagle to get back to 5 under.
Then he added birdies on Nos. 11, 13 and 16 and 17 to pull away, becoming the first golfer to go 6 under or better over the final 10 holes while winning a major since Cameron Smith at 2022 Open and Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters, according to ESPN Research.
Justin Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner, carded an early 5-under 65 to become the early clubhouse leader at 5 under. He had to wait around for hours to find out if it would hold up.
Rahm was undone by two bogeys on the front and couldn’t get enough putts to fall on the back nine.
Australia’s Smith made a Sunday charge with a 3-under 32 on the front nine, but the LIV Golf League captain didn’t have a birdie on the back and made a bogey on the 17th to finish 4 under.
McIlroy started the final round three strokes behind Smalley and had to do something special. It never came for the six-time major champion, who finished in a tie for seventh at 4 under.
Smalley, who hasn’t won the PGA Tour, showed nerves early as a final-round leader in a major. He made an eagle on the 16th and a birdie on 18 to finish at 6 under.
Ludvig Åberg, who has been in contention in a handful of majors but hasn’t been able to close, had another inconsistent Sunday. He was only two strokes behind Smalley at one point after making a birdie on No. 2, but then back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 caused him to fall three strokes behind.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler endured another frustrating day on the course’s treacherous greens. He carded a 1-under 69, which wasn’t nearly enough to climb up the leaderboard, and finished in a tie for 14th at 2 under.
Scheffler, who was attempting to lift a Wanamaker Trophy for the second straight year, needed 125 putts, which was second most in a major championship in his career. He missed six putts inside 5 feet, tied for the second most in any PGA Tour event in his career, according to ESPN Research.
