“Golf is an amazing game”: Rai after his PGA victory

Yes, someone named Aaron Rai won the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

How did he do it? The simple explanation: golf.

The game is not only frustrating and bewildering, but it also offers more unexpected results than maybe any other sport. It can also be rewarding. That’s because the players are on their own, and perhaps most of all, because there is no defense—other than the course.

In 2003, Shawn Micheel won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, NY. And it was a considerable surprise. Micheel hadn’t done much playing competitively.

Rai had done enough so that his three-shot victory in the 108th PGA Championship couldn’t be called that big a shock, although perhaps at least it was a minor one.

A 31-year-old from Wolverton, England overcame a field that included virtually every current great player from here to St. Andrews. How’s this for a partial list of people he beat: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Zander Schauffele, John Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka, each of whom has won multiple majors.  

That’s the beauty of golf. Someone unforeseen, unpredictable, knocking in a few putts and knocking off many of the game’s top players.

Rai shot a 5-under par 65 Sunday to win the second major of the season. Rai had won events on both the PGA Tour (the Wyndham) and the DP Tour, played beautifully down the stretch, particularly on the greens, holing a 39-footer for an eagle 3 on the 9th hole and then, in resounding fashion, a 68-foot birdie on 17 to further thrill a boisterous gallery.

After becoming the 1st native born Englishman to win the event since Jim Barnes in 1919, Rai, a cool, humble 31-year-old, was asked about his place in history.

“Golf is an amazing game,” said Rai. “It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game.”

But a great deal is taken, particularly when the setup is to penalize anything but a perfect shot. 

Alex Smalley carried a two-shot lead until the final round, but that didn’t last very long. Rahm, moving ahead briefly and in the process emphasizing what a wild day this would become. At the end, Smalley and Rahm tied for second at 274, Rahm after a 2-under 68 and Smalley with an even-par 70. Scheffler managed a 1-under 69, but a total of 2-under 278 left him tied for 14th. McIlroy 69. Total 276.

Rai made six birdies over the last 10 holes, taking the lead for good on the 13th.

“To be here,” said Rai after clutching the Wanamaker Trophy, “is beyond my wildest dreams.”