Aaron Rai stood on the 18th green at Aronimink Golf Club in complete disbelief. The Englishman secured his first major championship with a final-round score of 65. Rai clinched the 2026 PGA Championship with a lead of three strokes.

The highly contested tournament ended in Newtown Square, with Rai closing out the grueling contest with a cumulative 9-under par total, narrowly holding his lead ahead of a strong chasing pack. During the emotional Wanamaker Trophy presentation, Rai expressed his astonishment.

"So to be stood here is definitely outside of my wildest imagination."

This breakthrough win came despite an extremely tough season during which he struggled with a persistent neck injury, which made his training program very difficult and dampened his championship prospects.

Regardless of the challenges, Rai's sensational Sunday surge was boosted by an eagle on the ninth hole. He then proceeded to make four critical birdies on the back nine holes to consolidate his lead.

The pivotal moment happened on the par-three 17th hole, which Rai approached under immense pressure. This was the second-longest putt across the tournament. Rai even went on to make an admission about the putt.

"Definitely wasn't trying to hole that putt. The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for probably the last 10 feet. So that definitely helped with the visual of the putts."

He skillfully made a 68-foot birdie putt to clinch his three-stroke victory.

Aaron Rai Conquered a Season of Setbacks 

Before making history in Pennsylvania, Rai's major preparation suffered due to health concerns. The pain in his neck forced Rai to skip the Houston Open in March.

Rai suffered from a turbulent start to the season, lacking consistency and rhythm on the golf course.

It is worth noting that Rai achieved just one top-20 result in the first eight events in the season. That lone, bright performance came late at the Myrtle Beach Classic, where he finished fifth, right before the PGA Championship commenced.

Rai standing on Aronimink as a winner of a major appeared quite incredible after considering everything above. The victory transformed a season defined by injury into a career-defining milestone.

What do you think of Rai's incredible 2026 journey to PGA Championship victory? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Abhishek Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray