Aaron Rai bounces back to win the PGA Championship, his first major title

The final round of the PGA Championship was set to be more like a boxing match than a golf tournament. No one was running away from the field. No two stars stood alone in the sky. But with so many players in the mix for 54 holes, the haymakers, we a thoughtit would come from everywhere.

Turns out it was Aronimink Golf Club throwing a lot of punches – and only Aaron Rai punched back.

The 31-year-old held off a crowded field to shoot a five-under 65 and win his first major title on Sunday, becoming the first Englishman to win the major since Matthew Fitzpatrick in 2022. He finished nine under par, beating Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three.

Before Sunday, Rai had only one PGA Tour win, at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, although he had won three times on the DP World Tour, most recently at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship last November. He had never recorded a top 10 in his 12 major starts, though he had made the cut in each of his last eight.

Sunday's finals had all the makings of a frenzy, but the story ended with very few players making it. indeed make a move. And Rai, who played the last ten holes in six under, was the only one to finish with a bogey. The last hour of the tournament was just anointing.

Smalley began the day as the 54-hole leader at six under, but the 29-year-old Duke Blue Devil had never won on the PGA Tour and had played in only four majors. Five players – Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor, Ludwig Aberg, Rahm and Rai – were behind Smalley, and a total of 21 players were within four shots of the lead.

The final pairing of Smalley and Schmid, who have eight combined career starts to their name, started at 2:37 pm local time. The four pairs that started before them accounted for more than 200 major starts and 11 major titles.

But at that time, the players knew that there were good points to get. With six hours left before the final pairing, Kurt Kitayama carded a 63 – tied for the lowest final round in major history – and jumped into the top 10. Then, shortly after Smalley and Schmid started their rounds, Justin Thomas drained a 17-footer for par on the 18th hole to shoot a 65. He took the under five clubhouse back but was one clubhouse back. Did it have a chance to hold back? We had to wait for hours to get it.

Smalley started with five straight pars but double-bogeyed the 6th to drop down the leaderboard and hand the lead to Schmid, who moved to six under with a birdie on No. 6. Schmid made the cut at six under and in the solo lead, with five players one behind five under and three four under.

At that time, a ton of good news began to appear real.

Can Rory McIlroy win the first two legs of the season's grand slam? Could Cameron Smith, winner of the 2022 Open Championship, emerge from the abyss? Can Rahm win amid LIV Golf's season of uncertainty? Or will Thomas win his third Wanamaker Trophy after just four hours as Aronimink takes out the competition one by one? Or, another: can we see the winner for the first time?

Rai started the day with three bogeys and two birdies in the first eight holes, but an eagle on the ninth then bogeyed 11 – just as Schmid bogeyed 10 – to take the lead alone. He extended his lead to two when he birdied the short par-4 13th, although Schmid got one back with a birdie on the 13th, reducing the deficit to one.

But as the day wore on, few players stuck around. Smith shot a 68 and finished four under. McIlroy 69. Rahm 68. Aberg 69.

Rai was always connected. He made a birdie putt-putt on the par-5 16th and led by two again, then landed the biggest punch of the day on the 17th, rolling in a 69-foot birdie putt to take the lead. Coupled with a Schmid bogey at the same time, Rai's lead extended to four.

“Aaron's round of 5 under tonight is impressive,” said Xander Schauffele. “He's a few leagues behind me, and that's great golf.”

After a putt-putt par on 18, all that remained was to wait for the last two pairs to finish before welcoming Wanamaker.

Before Sunday, Rai was perhaps more known for wearing two gloves and using iron covers than he was for his PGA Tour. But now? That is no longer the case. From here on out, he will always be known as a great champion.