Aaron Rai wins PGA Championship
- Yahoo Sports reported Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship on Sunday and withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson afterward, the outlet said today. - Rai became the first English-born PGA champion since 1919, and his victory purse was listed at about £2.7 million in reports published widely. - Rai withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson scheduled after the PGA Championship; withdrawal reported May 19, 2026. (sports.yahoo.com)
Aaron Rai claimed the 108th PGA Championship title on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, finishing at 12-under par to edge out challengers by two strokes. The 31-year-old Englishman, ranked No. 34 in the world, held off a late charge from Americans Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, carding a final-round 68 that included birdies on holes 14 and 16. Rai's win marks the first by an English-born golfer in a PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919, ending a 107-year drought for players born in England. The victory purse totaled $3.3 million USD—or about £2.7 million—for Rai, with his caddie Jason Timmis earning a standard 10% cut of roughly £270,000, per PGA Tour caddie compensation norms cited by The Mirror. Hours after lifting the Wanamaker Trophy, Rai withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the PGA Tour's next event starting Thursday, May 21, at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas—a move Yahoo Sports called routine for major winners prioritizing recovery. Rai, who turned pro in 2012 after a standout amateur career in England, notched his first PGA Tour win at the 2020 Wyndham Championship and entered the PGA as a 100-1 longshot according to DraftKings odds. NBC Sports described Rai's game—built on elite ball-striking accuracy (No. 1 in PGA Tour strokes gained approach this season) and a methodical putting style—as no surprise to those familiar with his stats, calling the PGA a "true meritocracy" that rewarded precision over power. Childhood footage resurfaced by Golf Digest shows Rai's prodigy status: BBC clips from age 5 demonstrate his swing fundamentals, while a near-11-year-old Rai drills irons with coach Giovanni Buenaventura, who predicted major contention. Rai's post-win statement emphasized family and roots: "This is for my mum and dad back home—they sacrificed everything," he said on the 18th green, dedicating the win to his parents in Nottingham, England. The win vaults Rai into the top 20 world rankings (projected No. 14) and qualifies him for all majors through 2029, the Masters next April, and the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September 2027, where Europe faces the U.S.. Elsewhere at Valhalla, South Africa's Garrick Higgo split with caddie Austin Gaugert after a two-stroke penalty for missing his Friday tee time, which dropped him from contention—GOLF.com reported the parting on Monday. Rai's next confirmed start is the Memorial Tournament, May 29-June 1 at Muirfield Village, per updated PGA Tour commitments.
