May 18 (UPI) — Aaron Rai not only turned in progressively better rounds throughout the four-day 2026 PGA Championship, he also saved one of the best shots of the tournament for championship Sunday.
Rai electrified golf fans with a powerful, yet stoic finish at the second major of the season. He started the week as the No. 44 player in the Official World Golf Ranking and ended it by becoming one of the biggest long shots in decades to clinch a major title.
And he did so with a literal long shot, sinking a 68-foot putt on No. 17 on Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, N.J.
“That putt on 17 was incredible,” Rai told reporters. “I was just trying to focus on speed and get it close.”
Rai carded scores of 70, 69, 67 and 65 for a total score of 9-under, thee shots better than second-place Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.
He started Sunday two shots back of the lead. He was 1-under through his first nine holes of the final round. Rai proceeded to make four birdies on his bogey-free back-nine to capture the Wanamaker Trophy and $3.69 million first-place prize.
Rai held a two-stroke lead on Matt Schmid, with Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and others lurking, when he stepped onto the green on No. 17. He gripped his putter and smacked his final stroke on the hole, sending the ball to the right before it rode a slope left and dropped in under the pin.
Rai calmly shook his head as the crowd around him exploded in elation.
“It started to look really good, line-wise, with probably about 15 feet to go,” Rai said. “It slowed up really nicely as well. It just kind of conspired all together for that ball to go in the whole.
“An incredible putt and a real bonus to see that one go in.”
The birdie pushed Rai’s score to 5-under on the day and gave him a three-stroke cushion. He went on to make par on No. 18. Schmid was 1-over through his final four holes. Rahm was 2-under through his final 11, but could not catch Rai atop the leaderboard. Smalley was 3-under over his final 10 holes. He tied Rahm for second place, three shots behind Rai.
Thomas, Schmid and Ludvig Aberg tied for fourth at 5-under for the tournament. McIlroy, who was 4-over through his first 18 holes of the tournament, shot a final-round 69 to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place with Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and tournament favorite, tied for 14th at 2-under.
“Honestly, I didn’t look too much at the leaderboard [Saturday night],” Rai said. “Obviously, I knew that there were a lot of people that were going to be close. But I think, regardless of how bunched that it was, it still required a really good, strong round of golf. The course really demanded it this week.
“It was really punishing as soon as you lost a split-second of focus.”
With his victory, Rai became the first English-born player to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. He improved to a career-best No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Entering Sunday, the 31-year-old hadn’t finished better than 19th at a major.
Rai and several other top-ranked players also are in the field to compete in this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson. That tournament will be held from Thursday through Sunday in McKinney, Texas.
The 2026 U.S. Open, the third major of the season, will be held from June 18 to 21 in Southampton, N.Y.
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