Aaron Rai left Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the dust as he stormed to victory at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
The Englishman fired a five-under-par 65 to snatch his first major title, playing his last 10 holes in six under. He masterfully plotted his way around the testing Donald Ross layout near Philadelphia, profiting while the bigger hitters around him paid the price for missed fairways.
He wins $3.69 million and gets his hands on the coveted Wanamaker Trophy. He also became the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes 107 years ago. And he did it in his own style, wearing two gloves and using iron covers, the latter being a nod to the sacrifices his father made to pay for his clubs as a child.
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Rai finished at nine under par, three shots clear of Rahm and 54-hole leader Alex Smalley. McIlroy, meanwhile, was unable to build any kind of impetus and had to settle for a top-10 finish at four under. His tournament ended in unsavory fashion, snapping at a fan on the 16th hole and having him ejected.
Wolverhampton native Rai began the day at four under, and he started on the front foot with a birdie at the first. A bogey set him back at the third, but he responded with another birdie to remain in the hunt.
Dropped shots at six and eight appeared to be a hammer blow to his chances, only for his charge to be rejuvenated by holing from 40 feet for eagle at the par-five 10th.
He would not relinquish the momentum from that moment, picking up shots at 11, 13 and 16, but it was at the par-three 17th where the signature moment would arrive.
After a conservative tee shot, he holed an astonishing 68-footer to build an unassailable lead. There were echoes of the stunning long-range putt J.J. Spaun drained 11 months ago to ice the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Rai, the world No. 44 heading into this week, changed his life by joining the fraternity of major champions.
It is his second PGA Tour victory, securing a lifetime exemption for the PGA Championship and a five-year exemption for the other majors.