Ahead of the 108th edition of the USPGA Championship, much of the talk, as usual, was about Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and the other elite players. The tournament has been won so many top golfers over the years and in particular over the last 15 years or so.
However, while the likes of Scheffler, McIlroy, Brookes Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have triumphed, and before them, legends including Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, this event is certainly no stranger to a surprise winner.
In 2009, South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun won – it was the second and last PGA Tour win of his career. In 2003 the even less heralded Shaun Micheel landed the only win of his career on the PGA Tour. A year earlier, Rich Beem was a highly unlikely winner, while over the years, there have been many more, with none perhaps more unexpected than that of the ninth alternate in 1991, “Wild Thing” John Daly.
And in 2026 we got to add the name of Englishman Aaron Rai to that list. Rai, who like so many Europeans who compete on the PGA Tour, lives in the States, was priced at odds of 150/1 before the tournament began. Heading into the final round he was tied second on four under. However, with so many top players, including Jon Rahm, McIlroy, Justin Rose, Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg, clustered at the top of the leaderboard, few would have fancied his chances.
As much as there is no shortage of quality in the mix, Rai’s chances were slim as much due to quantity of players within a few shots of the lead on Sunday. The authorities had been criticised for some tricky pin positions and tough conditions, especially over the first few days, but they helped create an incredible contest, with 24 players within three shots of the lead going into the final round.
Rai Reigns Supreme
| Position | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Par Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Rai | 70 | 69 | 67 | 65 | -9 (271) |
| =2 | Jon Rahm | 69 | 70 | 67 | 68 | -6 (274) |
| =2 | Alex Smalley | 67 | 69 | 68 | 70 | -6 (274) |
| =4 | Justin Thomas | 69 | 69 | 72 | 65 | -5 (275) |
| =4 | Ludvig Åberg | 72 | 66 | 68 | 69 | -5 (275) |
| =4 | Matti Schmid | 69 | 72 | 65 | 69 | -5 (275) |
| =7 | Cameron Smith | 69 | 71 | 68 | 68 | -4 (276) |
| =7 | Rory McIlroy | 74 | 67 | 66 | 69 | -4 (276) |
| =7 | Xander Schauffele | 68 | 73 | 66 | 69 | -4 (276) |
| =10 | Kurt Kitayama | 70 | 69 | 75 | 63 | -3 (277) |
| =10 | Chris Gotterup | 72 | 65 | 71 | 69 | -3 (277) |
| =10 | Justin Rose | 70 | 73 | 65 | 69 | -3 (277) |
| =10 | Patrick Reed | 68 | 72 | 67 | 70 | -3 (277) |
In the end Rai, who was born in Staffordshire, won with room to spare. He shot the joint-second-best round of the day to surge clear of the field. His 65 meant that each of his four rounds was better than the last. He started with a level-par 70, then shot 69, before closing at the weekend with a 67 and 65 to finish on -9.
That meant he won by three shots, with Rahm and US player Alex Smalley tying for second. Justin Thomas, who won this event in 2017 and 2022, had set the clubhouse lead at five under thanks to a 65 of his own. The US star would have been hoping that the wind would pick up after he set the early lead but that didn’t really happen.
However, despite the relatively benign conditions, none of the other players who had gone into the final round with a really strong chance could do enough to stay with Rai. Earlier on, Kurt Kitayama had signed for an incredible 63 and in the end he was tied 10th on three under.
Scheffler never got going at all, Rose began with a birdie but then missed a series of birdie chances on the front nine, while Rory was left ruing what might have been. The US Masters champion did not cash in on either par five and when he bogeyed the driveable par-four 13th his hopes effectively ended.
Rai was the only golfer to reach seven under, with only Rahm, Smalley and Schmid Matthias getting as low as six. Rai, who won the 2024 Wyndham Championship, kept his nerve incredibly well. This was his ninth pro win but the first time he had finished higher than T19 in a major.
Another English Winner at Last
Rai’s win moved him up from 44th to a career-high of 15th in the world rankings. He briefly reached the top 20 back in 2024 and he will hope that this victory can spur him on to greater things. Having finished fifth a week earlier at the Myrtle Beach Classic he is in form and he will take huge confidence from a win such as this. He certainly won’t have to worry about the bills for a while, having banked over $3.6m at Aronimink. Perhaps it should be called “Aaron I’m minted”. Well, we’re sure there is a joke in there somewhere.
As well as the huge payday, world-ranking boost, playing rights and incredible honour and prestige of winning, Rai has also struck a blow for English golf. The last English winner of this event was Jim Barnes, who triumphed back in 1919 when the USPGA was a match play event. Barnes, from Cornwall, had also won the first edition of the tournament in 1916.
Rai ended the 107-year wait for another English winner in real style and he was the first European to win since Rory’s second victory in 2014. He was also the first non-American to take home the huge Wanamaker Trophy since Australia’s Jason Day in 2015 too. It was a truly historic win, and hopefully it can spur Rai on to greater things, and perhaps a spot in the next Ryder Cup team.