Aaron Rai's shock win at the PGA Championship. Plus: Rory lets one get away

Share articleGolf Briefing ⛳ | This is The Athletic’s daily newsletter for the 2026 PGA Championship. Sign up here to receive the Golf Briefing directly in your inbox. Good evening! Thanks for sticking with us throughout this PGA Championship. Alex will get us started, and Gabby will be along from Aronimink Golf Club in a few moments. Final results: 1. Aaron Rai (-9) T-2. Jon Rahm (-6) T-2. Alex Smalley (-6) T-4. Justin Thomas (-5) T-4. Ludvig Åberg (-5) T-4. Matti Schmid (-5) Aaron Rai just became one of the most surprising major champions of this century. The 31-year-old Englishman entered ranked 44th in the world (63rd in Data Golf’s ranking) and was somewhere in the neighborhood of 175-to-1 in most pre-tournament betting markets. Even after Saturday, he was just part of a thick jumble of contenders, two back of then-leader Alex Smalley. Rai is England’s first PGA winner since 1919. Here’s Brody Miller’s story. Not that it’s Rai’s problem — he has the Wanamaker Trophy to cover his ears — but his victory will renew the endless debate about whether the PGA of America’s setup this week allowed the best players in the field to separate themselves with superior shot-making. That won’t be particularly fair: Rai had already won three times on the European Tour and once, in 2024, on the PGA Tour. He’s now made nine major starts since 2024 without missing a cut. He also showed a ton today: His final-round 65 glows against the backdrop of most of the players struggling to get more than a shot or two under par in the Sunday afternoon wave. I won’t get carried away, though: Rai is coming out of pretty much nowhere. He was playing an opposite-field event in Myrtle Beach last weekend, having not earned his way into the much bigger tour event at Charlotte. His fifth-place finish there was his best of the year. He also didn’t seem like a strong course fit here, as a statistically bad putter playing on a course that turned this tournament into a putting contest rather than a ball-striking showcase. Rai separated himself from a ridiculously tight field, which featured a record 22 players within four shots of the lead after Saturday. Some of the disappointed guys behind him: Here’s Gabby on what she saw walking the back nine with the champ: It is not an understatement to say Rai’s life just changed with one 68-foot putt. Watching him put his hands on his hips and stare at the ground in shock after that birdie on No. 17 is a scene I will not forget. To separate yourself from the pack at a course that was bunching up the field was remarkable, especially for a player who managed to stay so firmly under the radar all week. Rai really snuck up on this PGA Championship. On his 15th hole, I got a text from a large golf industry WhatsApp chat. The message in question was from a member of the CBS broadcast team, with a last-minute request for Rai’s agent and wife’s contact information from anyone who could help. Rai had the TV truck at Aronimink pressing the panic button — that’s how unexpected this was. But Rai’s composure out there was his story: Early in the round, Rai also made a somewhat unlikely birdie on No. 4, and I took note of a small fist pump that he gave as his ball dropped into the cup. It was emblematic of who Rai is as a player. As Rai goes home with the Wanamaker Trophy, much will be made of some of his famous quirks — he plays with two waterproof golf gloves, has headcovers on his irons and uses one of those ridiculous-looking thick plastic tees when he hits his driver. All of those habits have deeply rooted meanings in his life. The weatherproof gloves trace back to his childhood practicing in the cold and rain in England. The iron covers have stayed on his bag since his dad bought him a valuable set of clubs as a kid, and he wanted to do everything he could to protect them. Rai prides himself on his humility, and his very presence on the course is a physical representation of that characteristic. So back to that fist pump: His wife, Gaurika Bishnoi Rai, told a group of reporters after the round that Aaron almost never throws a fist pump: “He doesn’t do it as a sign of respect for the other players,” she said. “He doesn’t want to put them down by doing that.” Gaurika slowly encouraged him to show some emotion, pushing him slightly out of his comfort zone, yet he still resisted. So to see Rai show even the slightest hint of emotion out there, you knew truly how much this meant to him. Back over to Alex to take this home: Tonight, we’ll use this section as a recap of some of the stories we’ve shared throughout the tournament, with a couple new items mixed in: ⚔️ How Aronimink fought the best players in the world, as explained mid-tournament by Brendan Quinn. The course (and story) held up well. 👏 Resurfacing Brendan on Chris Kirk (who finished T-44 after being in the weekend mix), from 2020: “From drinking away demons to playing straight.” 📈 Gabby’s writeup on Smalley and his “momager,” who follows his every shot, films him with an iPhone and charts his game meticulously. ⛳ Joseph LaMagna of Fried Egg Golf offers a good look into the hot topic of pin placements: Too hard, or no? 🎥 Brendan also got some of the best players in the world to (try to) pronounce various important Philadelphian terms, such as “Schuylkill.” I don’t ever expect to see Jordan Spieth win the PGA Championship and complete the career grand slam. But I’ll remain curious every May, because even in his post-prime state, the 32-year-old is still capable of true artistry. This little approach pitch into a tucked front pin at the par-4 11th hole was a lovely example. And that’s it from us! Play a little golf at your local muni this week. 📫 Enjoyed The Athletic’s daily PGA Championship updates? Check out our other newsletters.  Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms