Aaron Rai came out of nowhere to win the PGA Championship and secure his first major title. The shock triumph caught the attention of many, including 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, who later congratulated the Englishman with a handwritten letter.

No one had picked Rai to climb up the star-studded leaderboard at Aronimink. However, he did, and the incredible feat was applauded by the Golden Bear.

"After the PGA, I received a handwritten letter from Jack Nicklaus, which was kind of surreal when we opened the mail," Rai said ahead of the Open Championship. "Yeah, for someone like that to take the time to write to me after the PGA, it definitely shows the class of what Jack is about."

The gesture reflected Nicklaus' reputation for supporting the game's rising stars, with the 86-year-old, widely regarded as the GOAT, never being short of praise for young talent.

Rai became the first golfer from England to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. It was a three-stroke victory over Spain’s John Rahm, and it was enough to win Nicklaus’ heart.

Now, he heads to Royal Birkdale in hopes of securing the second major of his career. However, he is not putting much pressure on himself.

"Obviously this is a Major Championship. It's a huge event in its own right. So there's always that element of pressure that is there. I try not to view it too differently to most weeks,” said Rai, as reported by the DP World Tour.

While Rai remains focused on his own preparations for The Open, he recently made headlines for a thoughtful gesture toward a DP World Tour pro struggling for form.

Rai’s heartwarming gesture to DP World Tour pro

Ahead of the BMW International Open in Germany, Rai made headlines with an incredibly thoughtful gesture.

Pablo Larrazabal entered the event having missed nine cuts in a row. Rai had placed a handwritten note for him, along with an old photo of Larrazabal holding a trophy.

"Pablo, the guy in these pictures is who you are and he is much closer to the present you than you think. Keep fighting, keep working hard and most importantly keep believing – in each tournament, each round and each shot,” read the note, as shown on DP World Tour's X post. 

After benefiting from a thoughtful gesture earlier in the season, Rai offered his own words of encouragement to Larrazabal as the Spaniard battled a difficult stretch of form.

"It just felt like the right thing to do. It was Pablo Larrazábal. We've played quite a bit together in the past," said Rai.

Although Larrazabal failed to make the cut, Rai's gesture highlighted the camaraderie that exists among players on tour and likely carried extra significance coming from a major champion

What are your thoughts on Jack Nicklaus’ letter to Rai? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav