If Aaron Rai could enjoy a front row seat at one sporting event, he would choose ringside to watch an Anthony Joshua bout, so he told me back in 2024.
You wouldn’t associate a man of such a calm demeanour with a love of combat, nor would you liken his golfing style to the explosive power of his English sporting contemporary.
But this weekend, just 20 miles from the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art steps famously ascended by Rocky Balboa 50 years ago, another star known for wearing two gloves had his crowning moment at Aronimink.
Rai of Wolverhampton meticulously picked his way through this most bunched of leaderboards at the 2026 PGA Championship to become the first Englishman to win this event since 1919, the first to win the event in the stroke play era, and just the fourth player from England to win a major this century – joining Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Danny Willett.
Heading into the May major, Rai averaged 288 yards off the tee, good enough for 160th on the PGA Tour.
His longest drive was at the Sony Open, which finished 337 yards away – there are 221 players ahead of him in that particular leaderboard, too. His average clubhead speed comes to a little over 113 mph, behind the majority of the tour’s roster as well.
ALSO: What golf clubs does Aaron Rai use?
With a four-shot lead on the brink of winning his first major, Rai teed up his ball on 18 at Aronimink with an orange castle tee, gripped his seven-year-old TaylorMade M6 driver with both black gloves, ripped it down the middle, then put it back in his bag next to his head-covered irons.
He is coached by Andrew Proudman and Piers Ward – the golf tutor duo that form Me and My Golf on YouTube.
He left a list of superstars and major champions in his wake, namely Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Cameron Smith, with four back-nine birdies to experience the greatest moment of his career so far.
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There is a story behind each of Rai’s quirks. He first started wearing two gloves when he was eight years old, and couldn’t face wearing just one from that moment on, as he ‘couldn’t play’ and ‘couldn’t feel the grip’.
He still has covers on some of his irons, a concept often the subject of mild humour in clubhouses up and down the country, because it reminds him of when his father Amrik would buy him everything he needed to play golf as a youngster, with money he didn’t have.
While he is a world-class player, with talent alien to us on our sofas watching on, Rai has provided the only major win that any of us can remotely relate to. The method, the connection with his beginner days and his grounded approach to his career are things we can all learn from. ‘Do it your way’. ‘Swing your swing’. That stuff.
Rai entered the final round two shots behind leader Alex Smalley, and paired with super Swede Ludvig Aberg on Sunday. Rai has now beaten Aberg, a former college star and tipped for a career of immense success, in the race to their first major title.
Aberg is now one of many in a hyped group who are playing catch-up with a man who tees his ball up with plastic and drives it nearly 40 yards behind the longest hitters in the game.
Narratives were flying around all over the blue, windy skies of Newtown Square. Could McIlroy win the second leg of a possible calendar grand slam? Could Rahm and Smith silence the ‘haters’ and win a major for LIV Golf? Was Aberg about to realise his potential?
Final PGA Championship Leaderboard 2026
| Aaron Rai | -9 |
| Jon Rahm | -6 |
| Alex Smalley | -6 |
| Justin Thomas | -5 |
| Ludvig Aberg | -5 |
| Matti Schmid | -5 |
| Cameron Smith | -4 |
| Rory McIlroy | -4 |
| Xander Schauffele | -4 |
| Kurt Kitayama | -3 |
| Chris Gotterup | -3 |
| Justin Rose | -3 |
| Patrick Reed | -3 |
ALSO: Exclusive interview with Aaron Rai
Instead, Rai’s home nation finally got a PGA Championship winner – its first since ‘Long’ Jim Barnes over a 100 years ago.
This wasn’t completely out of the blue. Rai won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship back in November, beating Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff. This was the second time beating his fellow countryman in extra holes – he did so five years before at the Scottish Open.
Equally though, he had never finished in the top 10 of a major before, and has dealt with several injuries this year and disappointingly came fifth at Myrtle Beach last week.
But Rai does have pedigree, and it has been since that season, when I had the privilege of speaking to him in the sweltering sun of East Lake in Atlanta at the Tour Championship, shortly after he’d won the Wyndham Championship, where he has established himself as a top player on the PGA Tour stage.
After the third round, Rai was asked about the golf course, a Donald Ross design opened in 1896, which split opinion all week. The firm conditions and awkward pin positions put pay to the extortionate quotes of 20-under winning scores before the tournament began.
While some players grumbled at the gruelling set-up, Rai accepted the challenge for what it was:
“I think at any major championship it’s to be expected. Obviously, the scoring here is pretty high for a PGA Championship, but I think it’s really important to embrace whatever the course presents, whether that’s a little bit of softness, whether it plays a little easier, or whether it’s playing as hard as what it is now.
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“I think you just have to really dig in and see what you can do out there.”
The moment that we, and Rai, will take away from the final round was a 68-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole. It was one of three birdies made on the day on this treacherous short hole, and further outlined where he gained and where others faltered.
An unlikely winner? Sure. But such a welcome one, and one that we dreaming hackers can cling to with a small but significant percentage of relatability.
NOW READ: Why does Aaron Rai wear two gloves?
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