A 31-year-old from Wolverhampton. Two gloves. Iron covers on every club. And one of the great final-round performances in recent major history.
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Aaron Rai shot a closing 65 to finish at nine under par, becoming the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. He won by three shots. That is a gap of 107 years between English winners of the Wanamaker Trophy. Golf, as ever, takes its time.
The Course That Kept Everyone Honest
Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania returned to major championship golf for the first time since 1962. The talk before the week was of low scoring. Jon Rahm said players had been predicting 20 under — and that the number had made him question his ability to read a course. The course read back. The leaderboard stayed congested through three rounds, with no one able to pull clear. (PGA Tour)
Two Gloves and a Set of Iron Covers
Rai is recognisable on tour for two things: the two gloves he wears on both hands — a habit formed playing through English winters as a boy — and the iron covers still on every iron, a nod to his father, who sacrificed to buy him decent equipment. He has kept the covers on ever since, to remember where he came from. Rahm, watching from the leaderboard, was unequivocal: “What he did today is nothing short of special.” (Golf Channel)
The Putts That Won It
Rai began Sunday three shots off the lead. Approaching the turn, he holed a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-five ninth, then one-putted seven consecutive greens. On 17, with a three-shot cushion and the field pressing, he drained a 70-footer for birdie — not to chase the lead, but to seal it. He parred 18 without drama. (Yahoo Sports)
Where Does This Leave Him?
This was Rai’s 13th major start and only his second PGA Tour victory, following the 2024 Wyndham Championship. He started the week at 150-1. The only previous Englishman to lift the Wanamaker Trophy was Jim Barnes, who won the first two editions in 1916 and 1919. Rai is now just the second. For a nation that has produced Faldo, Rose, Westwood and Poulter — and watched them all come close — it lands with some weight. (Golf Monthly)
Rory, Rahm, and the Rest
Rory McIlroy, hunting a seventh major, could never find the gear. Jon Rahm finished tied second at six under — his best major result since joining LIV Golf at the end of 2023. Overnight leader Alex Smalley shared that position, having surrendered the lead with a double bogey on the sixth hole of the final round. It is, as these things often are, a story of someone else’s misfortune meeting someone else’s moment.
Aaron Rai picked the right moment. England waited 107 years for it. Ready to take your own game somewhere worth the journey?
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