COMPOSED RAI WINS FIRST MAJOR, MCILROY TIED SEVENTH
England’s Aaron Rai holds the Wanamaker Trophy after winning his first Major at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club (Photo: PGA Championship)
Aaron Rai produced the round of his life to win the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink in Pennsylvania, pulling clear of a crowded leaderboard to claim the first Major title of his career, while Rory McIlroy was unable to get his driving under enough control and had to settle for tied seventh.
Rai closed with a five-under-par 65 to finish on nine-under overall, three shots ahead of Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley and ahead of a field packed with proven Major champions. The 31-year-old become the first Englishman to lift the famous Wannamaker Trophy in 107 years when Jim Barnes triumphed.
After early blemishes threatened to slow his charge, his round ignited with and eagle at the ninth. From there, his composed and deliberate nature started separating him from the field, adding timely birdies at 10, 13 and 16 before holing a monster 70-footer for birdie across the 17th green to effectively seal the deal. From there he played the 18th in regulation to close out his first Major in fine style.
After lifting the Wanamaker Trophy, Rai described the moment as "an absolute dream come true" and reflected on the grind behind it.
"Golf is an amazing game," he said. "It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work." Those remarks matched the performance itself: composed, unshowy and relentlessly effective. Rai also entered the history books as the first English winner of the PGA Championship since 1919, a remarkable breakthrough in only his 13th Major start.
Masters champion McIlroy remained a threat deep into the final day but ultimately had to settle for a tie for seventh on four under par after a closing 69. The Northern Ireland hero recovered well from an opening 74 and put himself within striking distance, yet he couldn’t fully capitalise on the holes that usually fuel his scoring, namely the par fives
"Not birdieing the two par 5s," he said when asked what held him back, before adding that a bogey on the drivable 13th also proved costly. Even so, he was generous in his assessment of the champion, saying of Rai: "You won't find one person on the property who's not happy for him."
Pádraig Harrington enjoyed a fine week finishing in a tie for 18th on one under par. The 54-year-old Irishman opened with a 74 but responded with rounds of 69, 67 and 69 and raced home on the final day with an eagle at 16 and birdie on his closing hole.
“Look, I left a lot of shots out there,” saif Harrington afterwards. “I know I had this spectacular finish, and it makes me feel good. But I was feeling pretty good about my game up to that.
“I hit a lot of good shots today, made a few average decisions, you know, which you kind of make on a Sunday, maybe because I wasn’t in that position for a while.
“So, it was nice to be there. It was nice to have that feeling going out. I know eight under could probably win this or something like that, but I was still going out there, hoping to shoot seven, eight under myself, or five under.
“I was still in contention in my head, and that’s a nice place to be.”
Shane Lowry finished tied 44th with rounds of 68, 76, 70, 68 for a two-over total.