Aaron Rai

Professional career Rai turned professional in 2012. In 2014 and 2015 he played on the PGA EuroPro Tour. He won the 2015 Glenfarclas Open after a playoff, finished 5th in the Order of Merit and was promoted to the Challenge Tour for 2016.

Rai was 18th in the 2016 Challenge Tour Order of Merit and just missed out on a European Tour place. His best finish was joint runner-up in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, a stroke behind the winner, Alexander Björk.

In 2017, Rai got three wins on the Challenge Tour. In March he won the Barclays Kenya Open by 3 strokes. His Kenya-born mother embraced him on the final green, seconds after his final stroke: Rai said that it was her first visit to Kenya since she left in 1970. He had his second win in May, the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9, defeating Irishman Gavin Moynihan 2&1 in the 9-hole final. Rai's third success came in July in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge where he won by 5 strokes. The third win gave him an immediate entry to the European Tour. In May, at Walton Heath, he led international section qualifying for the U.S. Open but failed to make the cut in his first major.

In his first season on the European Tour Rai had four top-10 finishes and ended the 2018 season 58th in the Order of Merit. His highest finish was tied for 5thplace in the BMW International Open and he was 8th in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in November.

Rai won the 2018 Honma Hong Kong Open, the first event of the 2019 European Tour season. He led by 6strokes after three rounds but was pushed hard by Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished with a final round of 64. Rai's lead had been reduced to one shot after 16holes but Fitzpatrick bogeyed the 17th and, despite a bogey at the last hole, Rai won by one stroke.

In September 2020, Rai held the 54-hole lead at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, but was unable to convert this into a victory as John Catlin overtook him by two shots; ultimately finishing runner-up. A week later, Rai defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff to win the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, a result that lifted him into the world top100 for the first time.

In August 2021, Rai entered the Albertsons Boise Open as part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, as a way of obtaining a PGA Tour card for the 2021–22 season. He held a one-shot lead on the final hole of the tournament, however a closing double-bogey saw him drop to a tie for second-place, one shot behind Greyson Sigg. The result was still good enough for Rai to secure his card for the following season.

Rai finished 93rd in the FedEx standings in 2022 which secured his playing rights for the following year.

In the third round of the 2023 Players Championship, Rai scored a hole-in-one on TPC Sawgrass's signature 17thisland green.

A successful 2024 season saw Rai claim his maiden victory on the PGATour at the Wyndham Championship, five other top-10 finishes as well as making 14 cuts in a row. He also qualified for the Tour Championship and was the only golfer in the 30 man field to do so without playing a single signature event.

In November 2025, Rai defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff to win the title at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. Rai made a birdie on the first extra hole to seal his win.

He won the Par3 Contest at the 2026 Masters Tournament.

On 17May 2026, Rai won the 2026 PGA Championship with a score of 271, 9shots under par. His final round of 65 included holing a 69-foot putt for a birdie on the 17thgreen at Aronimink Golf Club. Rai became the first golfer from England to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. According to ESPN research, Rai was the biggest long-shot to win a major in at least the past 20 years, surpassing Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Louis Oosthuizen at the 2010 Open Championship, who were both 200–1 to win.

Personal life Rai lives in Jacksonville, Florida and practices at nearby TPC at Sawgrass.

He is married to Gaurika Bishnoi, a female professional golfer from India.

Equipment Rai is noted for several unconventional equipment practices on the golf course. Unlike most golfers, who typically wear a single glove on their non-dominant hand, Rai wears two gloves, a habit he stated began at the age of eight. Rai is also the only player on tour to use iron covers, a practice he attributes to his father's emphasis on caring for equipment and appreciating its value from an early age. Rai is further noted for his use of castle tees and a seven-year-old TaylorMade M6 driver that he used to win the 2026 PGA Championship.

Professional wins (9) PGA Tour wins (2) Legend Major championships (1) Other PGA Tour (1)

European Tour wins (4) Legend Major championships (1) Playoff events (1) Rolex Series (2)Other European Tour (1) 1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

Challenge Tour wins (3)

PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 2026 PGA Championship 2 shot deficit −9 (70-69-67-65=271) 3 strokes Jon Rahm, Alex Smalley

Results timeline Results not in chronological order in 2020.

CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2024 PGA Championship – 2026 U.S. Open) Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic "T" = tied

Team appearances Professional Team Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 2025 (winners)