Rory McIlroy finished in a tie for seventh place at the PGA Championship on Sunday, five shots behind winner Aaron Rai. The Wolverhampton native became the first Englishman to win the tournament since 1919.
Rai decribed the win as beyond his “wildest imagination” and said he owed it to his wife and parents as he became just the fifth European to taste victory in the major.
He battled through an exceptional field at Aronimink Golf Club with flashes of sheer brilliance, carding a final round 65 to triumph by three strokes.
A superb eagle on the ninth hole sparked a performance that featured a stunning 69-foot birdie putt on the 17th.
“To be stood here is definitely outside of my wildest imagination,” Rai said.
McIlroy threatened to get bang into contention a couple of times, but he struggled to take advantage of the par-five holes, parring both the ninth and 16th on Sunday, leaving him level par on the longest holes for the week. In comparison, Rai was six-under on them.
The Holywood man took home a cheque for €548,141 after a final round 69, which left him on four-under for the tournament. Rai pocketed €3,175,011 for winning.
McIlroy had spectator ejected during Sunday’s action after being heckled, with Sky Sports apoligising for the world number two’s strong language after he told the fan to ‘shut the f*** up’.
Rai praised the sacrifices his working-class parents made to nurture his budding career.
“It’s probably hard for me to really express everything that I feel towards them,” Rai said.
“I think I’ll get way too emotional to speak. My dad was with me every day that I went to practice from the age of four, five years old. He actually quit his job and started to focus on my golf from a really young age.
Aaron Rai celebrates winning the 2026 PGA Championship(Image: (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images))
“My mum has been absolutely incredible as well. She worked extremely long hours to just provide for the house really. I can’t put into words how much they’ve done in terms of the support, in terms of the care, in terms of love. I wouldn’t be here without them at all.” Rai is married to Gaurika Bishnoi, a fellow professional golfer competing on the Ladies European Tour, who sat at the front as he spoke to the media with the Wanamaker Trophy alongside him.
“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,” Rai added.
“Her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it’s technique or the way I’m holding myself is absolutely invaluable.”
Heading into the final round, Rai was grouped at four under par alongside the likes of Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg, sitting two shots behind leader Alex Smalley. With major champions McIlroy and Xander Schauffele lurking just one stroke back, and 21 players within four shots of the lead, it was a matter of who could mount the decisive charge.
Justin Thomas fired an early 65 to set the clubhouse target at five under as Smalley faltered, but it was Rai who ultimately delivered, recovering from three early bogeys to surge clear and finish at nine under. That left him three shots ahead of Rahm and Smalley.
Widely considered one of the most well-liked figures in golf, tributes poured in following Rai’s triumph, with all those who spoke in the aftermath highlighting his warmth and humility. “I think a lot of that has come from my upbringing,” he said.
“Golf was always a very big part of my life from a very young age, but my mum and my siblings were very fast to continue to reinforce the importance of just being a good person and trying to do the right things away from golf.”
Rai’s triumph brought an end to a decade of American dominance in the competition, making him the first English victor since the inaugural champion, Jim Barnes.
“Extremely, extremely proud,” Rai said. “There’s a lot of incredible and historic English players over those hundred years who have gone on to achieve incredible things and had phenomenal careers.
“But to win this event and then to be the person that’s the first one to have won it in a long time from England is an amazing thing.”
PGA Championship prize money
1 Aaron Rai $3,690,000
T2 Jon Rahm $2,214,000
T2 Alex Smalley $1,804,000
T4 Justin Thomas $843,867
T4 Ludvig Aberg $843,867
T4 Matti Schmid $843,867
T7 Cameron Smith $637,050
T7 Rory McIlroy $637,050
T7 Xander Schauffele $637,050
T10 Kurt Kitayama $496,708
T10 Chris Gotterup $496,708
T10 Justin Rose $496,708
T10 Patrick Reed $496,708
T14 Matt Fitzpatrick $364,763
T14 Scottie Scheffler $364,763
T14 Max Greyserman $364,763
T14 Ben Griffin $364,763
T18 Jordan Spieth $221,832
T18 Stephan Jaeger $221,832
T18 Padraig Harrington $221,832
T18 David Puig $221,832
T18 Harris English $221,832
T18 Min Woo Lee $221,832
T18 Joaquin Niemann $221,832
T18 Maverick McNealy $221,832
T26 Nick Taylor $125,523
T26 Alex Noren $125,523
T26 Cameron Young $125,523
T26 Andrew Novak $125,523
T26 Daniel Hillier $125,523
T26 Tom Hoge $125,523
T26 Sam Burns $125,523
T26 Hideki Matsuyama $125,523
T26 Bud Cauley $125,523
T35 Christiaan Bezuidenhout $78,806
T35 Patrick Cantlay $78,806
T35 Ryo Hisatsune $78,806
T35 Daniel Berger $78,806
T35 Ryan Fox $78,806
T35 Haotong Li $78,806
T35 Aldrich Potgieter $78,806
T35 Si Woo Kim $78,806
T35 Martin Kaymer $78,806
T44 Matt Wallace $50,348
T44 Shane Lowry $50,348
T44 Jhonattan Vegas $50,348
T44 Denny McCarthy $50,348
T44 Chandler Blanchet $50,348
T44 Taylor Pendrith $50,348
T44 Dustin Johnson $50,348
T44 Nicolai Højgaard $50,348
T44 Michael Kim $50,348
T44 Kristoffer Reitan $50,348
T44 Chris Kirk $50,348
T55 Collin Morikawa $34,186
T55 Corey Conners $34,186
T55 Andrew Putnam $34,186
T55 Brooks Koepka $34,186
T55 Mikael Lindberg $34,186
T60 Sami Valimaki $29,218
T60 Sahith Theegala $29,218
T60 Rico Hoey $29,218
T60 Rickie Fowler $29,218
T60 Brian Harman $29,218
T65 Casey Jarvis $26,900
T65 Jason Day $26,900
T65 Rasmus Højgaard $26,900
T65 Keith Mitchell $26,900
T65 Sam Stevens $26,900
T70 Luke Donald $25,070
T70 Ryan Gerard $25,070
T70 John Parry $25,070
T70 William Mouw $25,070
T70 Kazuki Higa $25,070
T75 Elvis Smylie $24,193
T75 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen $24,193
T75 Alex Fitzpatrick $24,193
T75 Daniel Brown $24,193
79 John Keefer $23,970
80 Ben Kern $23,930
81 Michael Brennan $23,910
82 Brian Campbell $23,900
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