Aaron Rai shifted into high gear Sunday and pulled away from a world-class field with one amazing shot after another until he became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.
The 31-year-old from Wolverhampton, England arrived at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania as one of the biggest longshots in the field. Rai came into the tournament with +17500 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook and finished with a victory over household names like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Justin Thomas. He finished 9-under par, keeping himself ahead of a crowded group including Rahm, Thomas, Alex Smalley, Ludvig Åberg, and Matti Schmid.
Aaron Rai shot a five-under 65 in the final round — his best round in a major championship of his career — to win the 108th PGA Championship and claim his first major title. It is one of the most improbable, most stirring victories the sport of golf has produced in the modern era. Walking off the 18th green, he was hand in hand with Aaron Rai wife Gaurika Bishnoi, the professional golfer who has stood beside him through every step of this journey.
Aaron Rai PGA Championship 2026: Final Leaderboard
With play now in the books and the Wanamaker Trophy engraved, the final leaderboard at the 2026 PGA Championship reads: Aaron Rai at 9-under, Jon Rahm in solo second at 6-under, and a tie for fourth between Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas, and Matti Schmid at 5-under. Alex Smalley, who entered the day as the 54-hole leader at 6-under, was unable to hold on and faded into that tied group.
How the Final Round Unfolded: Hole by Hole Analysis
The dramatic final round at Aronimink did not begin in Aaron Rai's favor. The pressure showed in the early going Sunday when he bogeyed three of his first eight holes. At that point, he was three shots off the lead and seemingly out of the picture.
Everything changed at the ninth hole. Staring down a 39-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole, Rai found the bottom of the cup. That putt catapulted him right back into contention. From there, the Englishman played the back nine with extraordinary precision and composure while the rest of the field crumbled around him.
Rai birdied the 13th to move two clear of the field. Matti Schmid reduced his lead to one with a birdie at the 13th, keeping the pressure alive. On the 16th, Rai hit a brilliant approach shot to within 15 feet and converted the birdie to reach 8-under with a two-stroke lead and just two holes to play.
Then came the moment that defined the entire week. At the 17th hole, holding a 2-shot lead, all Rai needed was a par to virtually lock up the championship. Instead, he drained a 68-foot putt for birdie — the second-longest made putt of the week — and extended his lead to three strokes with one hole remaining. The gallery at Aronimink erupted. Rai looked almost as shocked as everyone watching. Somewhere on the property, Gaurika Bishnoi — Aaron Rai wife and professional golfer — was witnessing history unfold in real time.
Alex Smalley's Collapse and the Chaos That Opened the Door
The carnage on Thursday and Friday, combined with the free-for-all jailbreak of Saturday, created a Sunday leaderboard literally unlike anything we have ever seen before. According to Elias Sports research, the 22 players within four shots of the lead entering Sunday marked a new PGA Championship record, beating the previous high of 18 in 1993. Those 22 included eight major winners — also a new PGA Championship record, and just the sixth time in all of major championship history that figure has been reached.
With lighter winds, warmer weather, and a course setup shorter than any day of the tournament before, Kurt Kitayama threw down a seven-birdie 63, tying the record for the lowest final round in major championship history, before the chaos began. It signaled to the entire field that low scores were possible — and it opened the floodgates.
Alex Smalley, the unlikely 54-hole leader who entered Sunday as a longshot himself, imploded early. A double bogey on the sixth hole handed the lead to Matti Schmid. Jon Rahm birdied his first two holes. Rory McIlroy made birdie on the second. Justin Thomas and Ludvig Åberg both joined a massive tie at 5-under, creating a five-way traffic jam at the top with the final pairing still on the front nine.
It was everything. It was madness. And in the middle of it all, Aaron Rai was quietly building something special on the back nine.
Historic Significance: First Englishman to Win PGA Championship in 107 Years
Rai, who finished at 9-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919 — the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.
It means Rai became only the second Englishman to win the Wanamaker Trophy after Jim Barnes won the first two titles in 1916 and 1919. Nick Faldo won six major championships in his illustrious career but never managed to win the PGA Championship. Former world number ones Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, and Luke Donald also went close, but none managed to do what Rai achieved in Philadelphia.
The magnitude of this achievement cannot be overstated. Generations of English golf legends — Faldo, Westwood, Rose, Donald — chased this trophy and came up short. Rai, ranked 78th in the world entering the week, did it on his 13th major championship start. And he did it with Aaron Rai wife Gaurika Bishnoi watching from the gallery, the woman he credits with transforming both his life and his golf game.
The Odds That Made This Win Historic
Rai was the second biggest longshot to ever win the PGA Championship, just behind Phil Mickelson, who won in 2021 with +25000 odds. To put it in context, most observers gave Rai virtually no chance entering the week. He had never won on a major championship stage, had never finished better than 19th place at a major, and entered as a secondary story line — best known for wearing two golf gloves and using iron head covers.
The list of major longshot winners this century includes Ben Curtis at 300-1, Shaun Micheel at 150-1, Todd Hamilton, Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover, and Y.E. Yang all at 150-1, and Phil Mickelson at 200-1. Aaron Rai at 150-1 joins that exclusive, improbable club.
The Two Gloves, the Iron Covers, and the Man Behind the Major
Prior to hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy, Rai was probably most known for wearing two gloves when he plays. Growing up in England, he often played through cold conditions, and two gloves provided more warmth. He tried wearing one glove, played terribly, went back to two and has done so ever since. "I just happened to be given these two gloves — the guy who actually makes them sent a pair over — and I got into the habit of wearing them," Rai told Golf Monthly in 2025. "Then, a few weeks down the line, my dad forgot to put the two gloves in the bag so I had to play with one. It was terrible. I couldn't play, I couldn't feel the grip, so I've always stuck with the two gloves ever since."
Those two gloves are now the most recognizable prop in professional golf. Every image of Rai holding the Wanamaker Trophy will feature them. He became a major champion wearing them, with Gaurika Bishnoi — Aaron Rai wife, professional golfer, and his most important supporter — watching from nearby.
Aaron Rai Wife Gaurika Bishnoi: The Woman Behind the Champion
No account of this victory is complete without telling the story of Gaurika Bishnoi, Aaron Rai wife and fellow professional golfer who has been central to his rise. Gaurika Bishnoi is 27 years old and from Gurugram, India. She established herself on the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour, winning eight individual titles, and was ranked the number one female player on the circuit in 2017 and 2019. She currently competes on the Ladies European Tour.
Golf fans first noticed Gaurika Bishnoi during the 2025 Masters Par-3 Contest at Augusta National, where she wore the traditional white caddie outfit while carrying Aaron's bag. Aaron invited her to take a shot during the contest, and her attempt landed even closer to the pin than his ball. The audience and commentators immediately praised her swing, with many joking that she might be the better golfer of the two.
The couple married in July 2025 with a vibrant Indian ceremony at Hedsor House, just outside of London. They currently reside in Jacksonville, Florida.
The couple teamed up again during the 2026 Masters Par 3 Contest, where Rai shot 6-under par to win the event with Gaurika Bishnoi once again carrying the bag. Rai later returned the favor, serving as her caddie during a Ladies European Tour event.
Following his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship win last November, Rai spoke openly about what Gaurika Bishnoi means to him and his career. "It's hard for me to really sum up how much of an effect she's had on me as a person, and also that actually feeds into my golf. This year has been truly special with us getting married, caddying for her, being with her, practicing and playing together. It's just a peaceful thing to be able to share different parts of our lives with one another and being with each other every step of the way."
On Sunday evening at Aronimink, Gaurika Bishnoi walked off the 18th green hand in hand with a PGA Champion. The peace she gave him was reflected in every putt he drained on the back nine.
Aaron Rai PGA Championship Prize Money and Career Rewards
Rai will walk away from Aronimink Golf Club with $3.69 million as the tournament's winner, from a record $20.5 million purse — a $1.5 million increase from the $19 million offered a year ago at Quail Hollow.
Beyond the check, Rai also receives 750 FedExCup points and 1.5 points for every $1,000 earned in relation to the Ryder Cup standings. He earns a lifetime exemption to the PGA Championship and five-year exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, and The Players Championship. He also receives a seven-year DP World Tour membership.
The winner's payout of $3.69 million is by far and away Rai's biggest ever payday. For context, his only previous PGA Tour win — the 2024 Wyndham Championship — earned him $1.422 million. He more than doubled his career's biggest paycheck in a single afternoon.
Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, and the Best of the Rest
Jon Rahm gave the most credible chase of any contender in the final round. The two-time major champion birdied his opening two holes and was briefly tied for the lead before Rai's back-nine surge proved too much to match. Rahm finished at 6-under with a final-round 68, taking solo second place and the $2.214 million runner-up check.
Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas, and Matti Schmid finished in a three-way tie for fourth at 5-under par. Justin Thomas posted a final-round 65 and spent nearly two hours sitting on the clubhouse lead before Rai's birdie barrage on the back nine made his hopes irrelevant. Rory McIlroy, chasing his second major of 2026, found promise early before the back nine refused to cooperate and left him well outside contention.
What This Win Means for Aaron Rai's Career and Legacy
Before Sunday, Rai had never finished better than 19th place at a major championship and had just one PGA Tour win in his career — a victory at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, a field that did not feature the world's best.
In the span of 18 holes at Aronimink Golf Club, all of that changed forever. Aaron Rai is a major champion. He is the first Englishman to own the Wanamaker Trophy in 107 years. He is one of the biggest longshot major winners in the history of professional golf. And he did it all with Gaurika Bishnoi — Aaron Rai wife and one of India's finest professional golfers — by his side through every moment of this extraordinary week.
Aaron Rai carded a five-under 65 to beat Jon Rahm by three in a thrilling final round at Aronimink, and the Englishman is the new PGA Champion. The man with two gloves, iron head covers, and a wife who once outshot him at the Masters Par-3 Contest just became the most unlikely, most memorable, most beloved golf champion of 2026.
