If you were to dream up the perfect way to claim your first major golf title, there’s a good chance it would involve a 68-foot putt in front of thousands of fans at the most opportune moment of the week. At least, that’s how it went for England’s Aaron Rai.
Holding a two stroke lead over Germany’s Matti Schmid, the first-time major winner sunk an unbelievably long putt to birdie the 17th hole during the fourth round of play at the 2026 PGA Championship, putting him three strokes ahead of his nearest rival at the Aronimink Golf Club.
And while he missed another birdie opportunity on the 18th hole, a simple putt for par was enough to hand the man from Wolverhampton, England, the tournament, title and Wanamaker Trophy – the first awarded to an English player since Jim Barnes in 1919.
Rai finished the tournament at nine under par, three strokes ahead of third round clubhouse leader Alex Smalley of the United States, who shot even in the fourth round to finish tied for second at six under par with Spain’s Jon Rahm – who shot two under par in the fourth round.
Germany’s Schmid headed a three-way tie for third with Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg and the United States’ Justin Thomas at five under par after four rounds of play.
“It’s very surreal,” Rai told CBS. “It’s been a frustrating season, so to be stood here is outside of my wildest imagination.”
“Golf is an amazing game,” he added. “It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility, discipline and absolute hard work, because nothing is ever given in this game. No matter what level you’re playing, no matter what course you’re playing on.
“It just teaches so many amazing life skills. Pretty much every guy on tour… are incredible people. The sport should be very proud of the ambassadors that represent the PGA Tour and the PGA of America.”
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/golf-aaron-rai-england-wins-pga-championship
