Aaron Rai walked off Aronimink on Sunday with the Wanamaker Trophy under his arm and a piece of history he was only made aware of one day earlier: he is the first English-born winner of the PGA Championship in 109 years.
The 31-year-old closed out the 2026 PGA Championship by three shots over Jon Rahm, with Alex Smalley a further stroke back in third. A holed putt at the 17th, struck from outside 30 feet, ended the contest after Rahm had hung within range for most of the back nine.
"That wasn't actually aware of it until yesterday," Rai said of the English drought. "There's a lot of incredible and historic English players over those hundred years who have gone on to achieve incredible things and had phenomenal careers. To win this event and to be the first one to have won it in such a long time from England is an amazing thing and something to be extremely proud of."
The back-nine masterpiece was built on three shots Rai isolated himself: a 40-yard bunker recovery at the par-five 13th from an upslope, a five-iron into 16 that he started off the left wind and walked down to 15 feet, and the putt at 17 that effectively ended the championship.
"Was just trying to focus on speed and get it close," Rai said of the 17th. "It started to look really good linewise with probably about 15 feet to go. Slowed up really nicely as well. So it just kind of conspired all together for that ball to go in the hole. An incredible putt and a real bonus to see that one go in."
Rai used his champion's press conference to repeatedly turn the spotlight onto the people who built him. His father quit his job when Rai was four or five years old to take him to practice every day. His mother worked multiple jobs to keep the household running while his father focused on golf. His older sister took on a part-time job at 14.
"It's probably hard for me to really express everything that I feel towards them," Rai said. "I think I'll get way too emotional to speak. He actually quit his job and started to focus on my golf from a really young age. My mom has been absolutely incredible as well. She worked extremely long hours to just provide for the house, especially with my dad also not working as much. I wouldn't be here without them at all."
His coaches at Me and My Golf, Andrew Proudman and Pierce Ward, have been with him since he was around 10 years old. Rai recalled Ward staying on the practice green at Wentworth until 11:30 at night during a BMW PGA Championship build-up, then driving two and a half hours home to Wolverhampton.
"When I call them my coaches, it's I almost feel disrespectful calling them just my coaches," Rai said. "They've been so much more to me than that from a young age. They've played a huge part in this trophy."
Rai also acknowledged the role of his wife Sofie, a professional golfer herself, with whom he had a 30-minute conversation in the car the night before the final round. He suggested she still beats him in their wedge games on Trackman.
As for celebrating the first major of his career? "Chipotle," Rai said. "I do love Chipotle on the road. So, yeah, probably later tonight if it's still open, we'll probably go to Chipotle."