Rai-se to Glory: How Aaron Rai Scripted History at the 2026 PGA Championship

Aaron Rai won the 108th PGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club, carding a stunning 5-under 65 in the final round to finish at 9-under par. He outlasted a star-studded field, besting runners-up Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three strokes to claim the prestigious Wanamaker Trophy. Known throughout his career for his unique traditions—wearing two gloves and keeping protective covers on his irons—the 31-year-old Englishman is now forever a major champion.

Rai played an extraordinary back nine, going 6-under over his final 10 holes to break away from an incredibly crowded leaderboard. However, the defining moment of the entire tournament came at the par-3 17th hole.

Faced with a terrifying pin placement near the water, Rai played it safe by aiming for the right side of the green. He successfully avoided the hazard but was left with a seemingly impossible, winding 70-foot birdie putt across the green. In a moment that will be replayed for decades, Rai struck the ball perfectly, watched it ride the crest of the hill, and watched it drop cleanly into the center of the cup.

The incredible bomb gave him an insurmountable three-shot cushion heading into the final hole, effectively sealing the championship and sending the roaring Pennsylvania crowd into absolute pandemonium.

Rai’s triumphant walk up the 18th fairway was not just a personal victory, but a monumental breakthrough in golf history:

Rai became the first English-born golfer to win the PGA Championship since 1919, snapping a 107-year drought stretching back to “Big” Jim Barnes. Born to an Indian-immigrant father and a Kenyan-immigrant mother, Rai made history as the first golfer of Indian descent to win a men’s major championship. He joins Vijay Singh as the only major winners of South Asian heritage.

Following Rory McIlroy’s victory at the Masters, Rai’s win marks the first time since the modern major era began in 1934 that Europeans have swept the first two majors of the calendar year.

His clinical performance snapped a streak of 10 consecutive PGA Championship victories by American players.

Moments after signing his scorecard, an emotional Rai walked off the 18th green and directly into the arms of his wife, Gaurika Bishnoi.

The couple, who married in London in July 2025, are widely regarded as golf’s ultimate power couple. Bishnoi is an exceptionally accomplished professional golfer in her own right, having won eight times on India’s Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.

In his post-round press conference, Rai praised his wife as the backbone of his historic achievement:

“She’s been incredible. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I wouldn’t be here without her. Both as a companion, as a friend, as someone I’m sharing my life with, but also as a real support system for my game. She’s a professional golfer herself. So her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it’s technique or the way I’m holding myself is absolutely invaluable. She encompasses so many different sides in her opinions”.

True to the couple’s humble nature, Gaurika joked off-camera during post-round interviews that she planned to celebrate his life-changing $3.69 million victory with a low-key dinner at their favorite road-trip spot: Chipotle.

Rai’s introduction to golf happened completely by accident. After a minor toddler injury involving a hockey stick, his mother, Dalvir, went to buy plastic replacement sticks but mistakenly returned with plastic golf clubs. His father, Amrik—a passionate tennis player who had never played golf—noticed that Aaron’s natural athletic movement mirrored a golf swing far more than a tennis motion.

From that moment on, Amrik dedicated his life to fueling his son’s new obsession:

Amrik and Aaron meticulously analyzed the golf swing by watching Tiger Woods VHS tapes three to four times a week.

Money was tight for the working-class family, yet Amrik spent a massive portion of his savings to buy a 7-year-old Aaron a top-tier set of Titleist 690 MB blades.

To protect that heavy financial investment, Amrik bought iron headcovers. After every single practice session, he used a pin to clear mud from the grooves and applied baby oil to stop rust. Rai keeps those iron covers on today solely to honor his father’s sacrifices.

Alongside the iron covers, Rai is famous for wearing gloves on both hands—a routine that started strictly by chance during his childhood development. “I just happened to be given these two gloves — the guy who actually makes them sent a pair over — and I got into the habit of wearing them,” Rai told GolfMonthly in 2025. “Then, a few weeks down the line, my dad forgot to put the two gloves in the bag so I had to play with one. It was terrible. I couldn’t play, I couldn’t feel the grip, so I’ve always stuck with the two gloves ever since.”

Rather than burning out on massive championship courses, Amrik and early coach Shaun Ball had Aaron play from customized fairway lengths. He only moved further back as his fundamentals grew flawlessly sound, protecting his mechanics as a growing child.

Sitting before the press with the Wanamaker Trophy at his side, Rai remained incredibly grounded when discussing his monumental victory:

“To be here is outside my wildest imagination. It’s been a bit of a frustrating season so to be stood here is definitely outside of my wildest imagination. Golf is an amazing game. It teaches you so many things and it teaches you humility, discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is given in this game no matter what level you are playing or what course you are playing on”.

When asked about his mindset on the back nine, he added:

“Just some very, very simple things. Just tried to stay extremely, extremely present. Really try not to get too far ahead of myself… I think as cliché as it sounds, perseverance. And I think continuing to try and build bit by bit. It’s a game that is a marathon, not a sprint”.

And on that legendary 70-foot putt at the 17th, Rai admitted with a smile:

“Definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt. The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for probably the last 10 feet, so, that definitely helped with the visual of the putt. But it was so long that I was just trying to put good speed on it and make a good putt. And it just tracked extremely well in the last half. Yeah, amazing to see that one go in”.

Photo: Instagram

Radu Roman
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