{"id":976,"date":"2026-05-18T04:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=976"},"modified":"2026-05-18T04:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:35:18","slug":"aaron-rai-runs-away-with-the-pga-championship-first-english-born-winner-in-more-than-a-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=976","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Rai runs away with the PGA Championship, first English-born winner in more than a century"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By DOUG FERGUSON<\/p>\n

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Aaron Rai was just another name among a dozen others who had reason to believe the PGA Championship was theirs for the taking Sunday at tough Aronimink.<\/p>\n

Read more Daily Horoscope for May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

There was Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, with 10 majors among them, all ready to seize the moment on a stage that was unfamiliar to Rai.<\/p>\n

Justin Thomas was the clubhouse leader for nearly four hours after a 65 before the course turned hard under a hot sun.<\/p>\n

What followed was a master class from golf\u2019s newest major champion.<\/p>\n

Rai made six birdies over the last 10 holes, taking the lead for good on the 13th and pouring it on with a 70-foot birdie putt across the 17th green that evoked a roar so loud everyone else on the course must have realized it was over. <\/p>\n

He closed with a 5-under 65 for a three-shot victory to become the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be here is outside my wildest imagination,\u201d Rai said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Three shots behind as he approached the turn, Rai got back in the game with a 5-wood up the hill and a 40-foot eagle putt. His 40-yard bunker shot was sublime and set up a 6-foot birdie on the 13th hole, the reachable par 4 that moments earlier gobbled up McIlroy and Schauffele.<\/p>\n

And then the 31-year-old Rai \u2014 who wore Ferrari shirts at junior golf tournaments because he once dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver \u2014 hit the gas with a back nine that ranks among the best in major championship history.<\/p>\n

The previous two players to go 6 under or better over the final 10 holes of a major were Cameron Smith at St. Andrews when he won the 2022 British Open, and Jack Nicklaus when he won the 1986 Masters.<\/p>\n

Rai now takes his place in some exclusive company.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Those chasing him with a better golfing pedigree \u2014 even Alex Smalley and Matti Schmid, who also took turns atop the leaderboard while going for their first win \u2014 were undone by untimely mistakes or failure to get good looks at birdie.<\/p>\n

McIlroy, who closed with a 69, played the par 5s in even for the week and he chopped up the reachable par-4 13th for a bogey. He also glared and softly cursed at a fan who said \u201cUSA!\u201d after McIlroy hit a wedge from the rough to the bunker on the par-5 16th. It was an indication McIlroy knew his hopes were all but gone.<\/p>\n

Rai, who finished at 9-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.<\/p>\n

Rahm and Smalley tied for second, a big deal for both of them.<\/p>\n

Rahm had his best finish in a major since defecting to LIV Golf at the end of 2023. He was slowed by a pair of bogeys on the front nine, and managed only one birdie on the back nine for a 68.<\/p>\n

Smalley lost the lead with a messy double bogey on the sixth hole, and his best golf was too late. Rai already had his eye on the Wanamaker Trophy when Smalley made birdie on the 18th for a 70. The runner-up finish gets him in the next four majors, including the Masters.<\/p>\n

Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole to post at 5-under 275, one shot behind as the final group was only in the second fairway. For the longest time, as Aronimink got tougher and the pressure got tighter, it looked like Thomas might have a chance. <\/p>\n

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Like everything else on this final day, Rai ended those hopes, too.<\/p>\n

So concluded a most remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs when no one could separate themselves at Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead going into the final round was a PGA Championship record.<\/p>\n

From that pack emerged the 31-year-old Rai, with one PGA Tour title, three on the European tour, and no finishes inside the top 15 at any of the majors.<\/p>\n

He might not be well known among casual observers, but he is a star in the eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t find one person on property who\u2019s not happy for him,\u201d McIlroy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper pumped for him and his team,\u201d Schauffele said. \u201cAll-world gentleman, no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wears two gloves, a habit he started as a kid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing \u2014 and he was always practicing. Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic covers on each iron, a reminder of his roots.<\/p>\n

He once said his father sacrificed to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil after his son was done playing. Rai has left the iron covers on since then \u201cto remember where I came from and to respect what I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody that uses head covers in his irons because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment and to still do it? Yeah, it shows a lot about a person,\u201d Rahm said. \u201cWhat he did today is nothing short of special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rai had seven straight one-putt greens, the last one a 6-foot birdie putt on the 13th that made him the first player all week to reach 7 under. And then he kept right on going.<\/p>\n

Thomas wound up in a for fourth with Ludvig Aberg (69) and Schmid, whose 5-foot par putt on the 18th hole gets him into his first Masters next year. Smith, who didn\u2019t drop a shot until the 17th hole, had a 68 to join McIlroy and Schauffele (69) another shot back.<\/p>\n

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the third hole and twice missed 3-foot par putts on the back nine in his closing round of 69 to tie for 14th, his first time out of the top 10 at a major since the 2024 U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

Rai now has a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. He can play the PGA Championship for life.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf is an amazing game,\u201d Rai said. \u201cIt teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing was given to him Sunday. Rai simply outplayed the strongest field in golf and won it.<\/p>\n

Read more UCF softball finally gets past FSU, advances to NCAA Super Regional<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP golf: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/golf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DOUG FERGUSON NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Justin Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole Sunday for a 5-under 65 in the PGA Championship, a round that became increasingly better once he stopped playing. Thomas was one shot out of the lead when he finished. Nearly two hours later, he still [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nAaron Rai runs away with the PGA Championship, first English-born winner in more than a century - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=976\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aaron Rai runs away with the PGA Championship, first English-born winner in more than a century - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By DOUG FERGUSON NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Justin Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole Sunday for a 5-under 65 in the PGA Championship, a round that became increasingly better once he stopped playing. Thomas was one shot out of the lead when he finished. 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