Aaron Rai powered through his final 10 holes with a 6-under stretch, firing a 5-under 65 to win the PGA Championship. He capped the victory with a 39-foot eagle on the par-5 ninth, then added birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 16 and a decisive 68-footer on No. 17, while
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.. — When the PGA Championship leaders started to look like they were treading water on Sunday, Aaron Rai pushed the accelerator.. Over his final 10 holes. Rai moved to 6 under. then closed with a 5-under 65 that became the second-lowest final round by a PGA Championship winner in the event’s history.
Rai’s finish wasn’t just another strong Sunday—it was a full-throttle swing at the moment others faltered.. His round turned sharply when he rolled in a 39-foot eagle on the par-5 9th.. Before that. he was sitting at 1 over for the day. but once that birdie-bomb landed. the leaderboard momentum shifted and he never fully lost it from there.
The win felt built on the kind of discipline Rai has carried since his earliest days in golf.. Growing up in a working-class family. he said his parents kept his clubs “delightfully clean” after every round. even using baby oil.. He returned to that point repeatedly on Sunday. insisting he wouldn’t be where he is without their support. and that there was never pressure to conform with other junior golfers.
Rai’s preparation has long followed the same theme.. He used iron covers to keep everything pristine and still plays with two gloves because that’s what feels natural to him.. In a sport where the biggest names often dominate conversations about money and status. Rai’s demeanour has stood out—part humility. part routine. and part stubborn belief in his own way of doing things.
His performance this week also underlined how he earned his spot at the front.. Rai entered the PGA Championship with a resume that. for many fans. might have sounded more modest than the game’s headline stars.. He won the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour title in 2024 and has three DP World Tour titles. including two playoffs over Tommy Fleetwood.. This was his best major finish—before this week. he hadn’t even recorded a top-15 at one of golf’s big four events.. Even so, his major consistency was clear: this marked the ninth straight time he made the cut.
The course fit wasn’t obvious on paper either.. Rai had recorded just one PGA Tour top-10 finish so far this year. coming last week at the alternate-field ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic.. He also sat 117th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting and 140th in driving distance.. But at Aronimink Golf Club, the numbers shifted.. This week he was fifth in strokes gained: putting. averaged 310 yards off the tee. ranked fourth in driving accuracy. and finished ninth in greens in regulation.
Those strengths translated into execution, especially when the moment demanded conversion. Rai finished first in the field in birdie conversion percentage, and the way he kept turning chances into results made it hard for the chasing pack to catch up.
Once he gained control, the closing stretch offered the kind of sequence major champions remember for years.. Rai went on to add birdies on Nos.. 11, 13 and 16, then sealed the tournament with an epic 68-footer on No.. 17.. It was a closing run that matched one of the sport’s rarest patterns—he became only the third golfer in recent history to go 6 under for his final 10 holes and win a major. adding birdies on Nos.. 11, 13 and 16 before closing with No.. 17.
The putt on No. 17 mattered just as much for its timing as for its distance. Rai later described it as a matter of speed and focus—saying he was trying to get it close, noting it looked good for the line with about 15 feet to go, then saying it “slowed up really nicely” before the ball dropped.
That sense of inevitability didn’t settle over the leaderboard right away.. Jon Rahm and 54-hole leader Alex Smalley finished tied for second at 6 under. after both endured their own struggles in the final stretch.. Rahm started Sunday with back-to-back birdies but added only one more on the back nine.. Smalley’s finish came apart early with a double bogey on the par-4 6th; he answered with an eagle on No.. 16 and a birdie on No.. 18, but it wasn’t enough.
Behind them, Justin Thomas—teeing off almost three hours before the leaders—was among those at 5 under, tied for fourth. Rory McIlroy was one shot further back at 4 under, tied for seventh, as he pursued his second major of the year.
For a tournament that drew big-name attention from the opening tee time and throughout the afternoon. Rai remained the story that stayed anchored at the top.. An Englishman won the first two editions of this major in 1916 and 1919, but none since—until Rai on Sunday.. Rai called it an honour to add his name to that list. while insisting the reason he could even be in that position came back to the foundation his parents built.
“The common thought. it seemed. was that Rai is one most committed workers on the PGA Tour.” Xander Schauffele recalled a time at the Scottish Open where Rai finished a putting session at 9 p.m.. and was in the gym 45 minutes later.. Matti Schmid. who finished tied for fourth. said Rai was “maybe the most hard-working guy on tour. ” adding that he practices with intention and does “a lot of things the right why. and that’s why he’s the winner today.”
Rai framed the championship as another step in a longer path. “It definitely feels like a journey,” he said, describing the major as something with an “amazing journey” just to reach the opportunity to compete. Standing on the other side of that process, he said it still hadn’t fully sunk in.
The picture on Sunday formed a clear sequence: when Rai hit the 39-foot eagle on the par-5 9th and moved off being 1 over for the day. he immediately followed it with birdies on Nos.. 11, 13 and 16—then finished with a 68-footer on No.. 17—while the final-round issues of others. including Smalley’s double bogey on the par-4 6th. left the chasing pack stuck at 6 under.
Aaron Rai PGA Championship golf Aronimink Golf Club Jon Rahm Alex Smalley Rory McIlroy Justin Thomas DP World Tour