Aaron Rai emerges from the pack to win PGA Championship with the final round of his life at Aronimink

Heading into Sunday's last circular of the 2026 PGA Championship, it felt arsenic if it was anyone's game, due to the fact that it practically was. An unprecedented 21 players were wrong 4 shots of 54-hole person Alex Smalley, but it was Englishman Aaron Rai who managed to abstracted from the battalion astatine Aronimink and not look backmost en way to becoming a large champion.

Rai, who entered the week ranked 44th successful the world, came retired of the gates connected Sunday firing, but aft making a four-foot birdie putt connected the opening hole, helium rapidly fell into the inevitable agelong each subordinate faced during the last circular successful having to enactment diligent and instrumentality what the play people was giving him.

Aaron Rai of England tees disconnected connected the 2nd spread during the last circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club connected May 17, 2026 successful Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) (David Cannon/Getty Images)

After a mediocre tee changeable connected the hard par-3 8th hole, and past airmailing the greenish with his bunker shot, catastrophe rapidly came into the equation, but the 31-year-old managed to person a four-foot putt for bogey. It was 1 of those bogeys that was a momentum saver, and the momentum was utilized connected the precise adjacent hole.

Rai reached the gettable par-5 9th spread successful 2 and sank a 40-footer for eagle. It was a bully bonus heading into the backmost nine, which played arsenic the hardest broadside passim the week, but Rai didn't subscribe to that communicative connected Sunday.

As the full tract and play tourney arsenic a full fell into neutral for what felt similar aggregate hours with the last groups making the turn, Rai stepped connected the gas.

Aaron Rai of England hits his 2nd changeable connected the 16th spread during the last circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club connected May 17, 2026 successful Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) (David Cannon/Getty Images)

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After picking up different birdie connected the par-4 11th, it was his birdie connected the 299-yard par-4 13th that helium whitethorn look backmost connected arsenic the moment.

Left with a precise dicey bunker changeable from 40 yards, Rai had the enactment of playing it comparatively harmless and leaving himself 20 oregon truthful feet up the elevation for birdie. Or, helium could alert the play shot to the spread and bring successful a slope falling distant from the spread conscionable beyond the flag. He didn't hesitate and walked disconnected the greenish with yet different birdie and a two-shot advantage.

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Despite the 13th spread being drivable for each subordinate successful the field, Rai's birdie really picked up a changeable connected plentifulness of the contenders connected Sunday. Nick Taylor, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele each made bogey connected the hole, portion Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, and Smalley weren't capable to instrumentality vantage of the abbreviated spread either.

Rai officially enactment a manus connected the doorway to slam unopen by reaching the par-5 16th spread successful 2 and making 1 of the much comfy birdies you'll ever see, and officially slammed it unopen with a 68-foot birdie putt connected the par-3 17th.

Rai played his last 10 holes successful six-under par and without a blemish connected the scorecard earlier signing for a 65 and a three-shot triumph astatine nine-under overall.

The five-under circular marked his lowest people successful a large title by two. A large title Sunday for the circular of your beingness is peculiar stuff.

Rai being the past antheral lasting among the likes of Ludvig Aberg, McIlroy, Rahm, Reed, and Schauffele — who each began the time wrong 3 shots of the pb — has a feeling of randomness astir it, which was the taxable for the week astatine Aronimink.

Aaron Rai of England acknowledges the assemblage connected the 18th greenish during the last circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club connected May 17, 2026 successful Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Entering the week, the astir communal prediction was that players were going to beryllium capable to prime isolated the Donald Ross-designed play course. A deficiency of trees and h2o hazards made mode for a bomb-and-gouge approach. Or truthful we thought.

Rai began the week ranked 160th connected the PGA Tour successful mean driving distance, and finished the week ranked 66th successful driving region among the 82 players who made the cut.

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While Rai is known for being among the shortest hitters connected the PGA Tour, he's besides made a wont of being an incredibly streaky putter. The flatstick is often a villain for Rai, but it was his champion mate passim the week arsenic helium finished 4th successful the tract successful strokes gained connected the greens.

With his victory, Rai became the archetypal non-American to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy since Australian Jason Day did truthful successful 2015, and the archetypal European to find the winner's ellipse astatine the PGA since Rory McIlroy successful 2014.