Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: A Rai of Sunshine

The putt rolled for nearly 8 seconds, and if you don't know how incredibly long that is for a golf ball to roll, go time it.

As it neared the cup, and appeared to be tracking, the Aronimink gallery ringing the 17th green began to rise in anticipation. And when the mammoth 68-foot 5-inch birdie putt took one final revolution and disappeared into the hole, everyone erupted. Everyone but the man who hit it.

Aaron Rai had just given himself a three-shot lead at the PGA Championship with one hole to play – a dagger to win a major championship if there ever was one, Jean van de Velde notwithstanding – yet he calmly stood there as all hell broke loose all around him. Finally, he offered a subdued mini fist pump before retrieving his ball, as unassuming a celebration as there ever was.

The reserved 31-year-old Englishman won the 108th PGA Championship by three shots on Sunday at Aronimink outside Philadelphia. Sharing the  first page of a leaderboard with him was a slew of major champions -- Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, plus Ludvig Aberg -- yet none of them could put a lick of pressure on the unflappable Rai.

Perhaps the straightest shooter on the PGA Tour, he fired a closing 5-under 65, including 31 on the back nine – of a major – to finish at 9-under for the week. Rahm and Alex Smalley shared second place at 6-under.

"Yeah, that putt on 17 was incredible," Rai said. "I was just trying to focus on speed and get it close. It started to look really good line-wise 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. But an incredible putt and a real bonus to see that one go in."

While Rai is among the most accurate drivers on Tour and usually among the leaders in greens in regulation, one thing he is not is a good putter. Yet for the week, he ranked fourth in Strokes Gained; Putting, to go along with second in SG: Approach, fourth in driving accuracy and ninth in greens in regulation.

Rai was asked about keeping his composure on Sunday, especially since he was in a situation he had never experienced before. His best prior finish in a major was a tie for 19th.

"I think firstly the golf course really demands it," he said. "It was a true major championship setup in terms of how difficult it was, how penalizing it was, but it also rewarded you for good play.

"So I think the nature of the course and the nature of the shots that are required over the last few holes just require a lot of attention and a lot of focus."

Rai eagled No. 9 to take the lead and never wavered. He birdied Nos. 11, 13, 16 and 17 coming home, with zero bogeys.

Rai had won once before on the PGA Tour, at the 2024 Wyndham, but also three times on the DP World Tour. All were in playoffs -- once over Matt Fitzpatrick and twice beating Tommy Fleetwood.

Yet he had probably been known more for being the golfer who wears two gloves than anything else.

This had not been a good year for Rai. He had only one top-10 coming in, and it was in an alternate-field event -- though it did occur just last week at the Myrtle Beach Classic. Even though he's been playing all season, he acknowledged he'd been dealing with a neck injury. That's likely why his approach play had been off this season. Now he's healthy again, and that's likely why he showed his true chops over four days at Aronimink.

Those true chops not only included his straight-as-an-arrow drives and long irons, but his reserved nature on the course.

That's why it was more than a bit interesting when he was asked who his big golf hero was.

"Honestly, Tiger was the main one really," he said. "Yeah, I used to love soccer as well growing up. I support Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo was so good for a long time. So I would probably say Tiger Woods and Ronaldo growing up.'

It's interesting that Rai was drawn to Tiger. Because we all know how Woods wou;d've reacted had he made that nearly 70-foot putt on the 71st hole of a major.

It would've been the complete opposite of Rai.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Jon Rahm
At long last, the real Rahm showed up at a major. He was in the mix much of the week, deep into the back nine on Sunday. It's actually remarkable he finished tied for second, as he ranked outside the top-30 in both SG: Approach and Putting. In some ways, that's a mark of a champion, contending when you don't have your best stuff. It will be fascinating where Rahm ends up next year: still on some reduced form of LIV? On the PGA Tour? The DP World Tour? Until then, he has to be considered a threat both upcoming major Opens.

Alex Smalley
The 54-hole leader lost his way early on, double-bogeying No. 6 and bogeying the 8th. A lot of guys would've fully collapsed at that point. But Smalley steadied himself and even eagled the 16th and birdied 18. As such, he'll be in the Masters next year for the first time. Smalley was having an excellent season before this surprise major contention. He's now ranked 42nd in the world, which should also get him into both Opens this summer.

Justin Thomas
Thomas went out way before the leaders, shot 65 and, before Rai went off on the back nine, looked like he could be sitting pretty in the clubhouse and steal the title. He ended up tied for fourth. Regardless, Thomas showed that amid some poor results this season and poor majors of late that he still could bring his A game on the biggest stage. Now let's see whether he can continue it for the rest of the season.

Ludvig Aberg
Once again, Aberg was on the periphery of contention, maybe even more than that. Yet he couldn't get over the hump, He tied for fourth and you have to think his time is coming sooner rather than later. All these close calls will either get you over the top to win a major, or break you. The former seems much more likely with Aberg.

Matti Schmid
The unheralded German was actually leading for a few holes after Smalley faltered. But Schmid couldn't keep up as Rai went off – no one could keep up – but he hung around enough to tie for fourth. That will get him into his first Masters next year. Schmid is ranked 142nd on Tour in SG: Approach and, while he was far better this week, it's too soon to think he has solved his biggest issue.

Rory McIlroy
After an opening 74, McIlroy fought his way back on to the first page of the leaderboard. He just couldn't make the one big shot to turbocharge his Sunday. He failed to birdie any of three par-5s, and that was a theme all week for him. McIlroy tied for seventh, and it's clear the desire for more major titles still lives on within him.

Xander Schauffele
Schauffele tied for seventh, continuing a remarkable trend in majors. This was his 19th top-10 in 36 starts, and second this year. In his past 17 majors, he has 16 finishes inside the top-18. Not much more to say.

Cameron Smith
Smith had missed his past six cuts in majors. He appeared to be mailing in his career after opting for the LIV cash windfall. Maybe he got tired of the repeated Friday night flights, because he looked close to the old Smith this week. He tied for seventh, ranking fifth in SG: Approach and 14th in Putting. His driving remains pretty bad -- he's both short and inaccurate -- or otherwise he could've won this tournament.

Kurt Kitayama
Kitayama went out early and shot the round of the day, a 7-under 63, to zoom up the leaderboard into a tie for 10th. When he is on, he's really on. But Kitayama is like the pitcher with electric stuff who doesn't have it nearly often enough. There's great upside with Kitayama, but also a low floor. He can look like this one day, but he's also barely made the cut half the time in his 19 career majors.

Justin Rose
Rose tied for third at the Masters and now for 10th at the PGA. Closer to age 50 than 40, he keeps on keeping on. He's finished in the top-10 at the PGA in five of the past seven years, and there's no reason to doubt Rose can do it again next month at the U.S. Open. Heck, he's even won one of those.

Patrick Reed
Reed tied for 10th, after a T12 at the Masters. And he didn't even putt all that well this week. But he did rank fourth in SG: Approach and 12th in Around-the-Green. This was Reed's  first start since Augusta a month ago, and it obviously didn't hurt him at all. Who knows, he may do it again and not play before the U.S. Open.

Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler had a brutal putting week – and he still tied for 14th. He ranked 72nd in the field, losing more than a stroke and a half, and he needed a whopping 125 putts for the week. There is no way to win a major or even contend with putting like that. Scheffler is one of the few top players teeing it up this week at the Byron Nelson. Even though the field will be very weak, this putting performance makes you wonder whether he can win what traditionally is a big birdie-fest.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth did not complete the career grand slam this week, for the 10th time, though a tie for 18th is not a bad week. Especially when you putt horribly – even worse than Scheffler, Spieth ranked 79th in the field in SG: Putting, which more than offset his elite wedge game – he ranked second in SG: Around-the-Green. Like Scheffler, Spieth is in the field for this week's Byron Nelson.

Padraig Harrington
The 54-year-old Champions Tour player turned back the clock to tie for 18th – his best finish in a regular major in five years.

David Puig
LIV has tried to secure a lot of the best young golfers in the world. Puig might be the best of them. He's 24, won the Australian PGA back in December, and this week he tied for 18th. He's moved up to 58th in the Official World Golf Ranking. If and when LIV dissolves, Puig could become a very relevant golfer on the world stage.

Ben Kern
Only one of the 20 club pros made the cut, and it was Kern. Playing out of South Hickory Hills Golf Club in Ohio, he tied for 80th for his second career made cut in the PGA Championship. Kern tied for 42nd back in 2018.

MISSED CUTS

Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, Gary Woodland, Michael Thorbjornsen, Jacob Bridgeman, Michael Block. There's always a boatload of big names that miss the cut in majors. It's safe to say some of these names were a huge surprise, starting with DeChambeau. He's now trunk-slammed in both majors in 2026, and it's impossible to know what's going on with him or whether he can turn it around next month at the U.S. Open. … This was only Fleetwood's third MC in his past 15 majors. On the other hand, he hasn't had a major top-15 in more than two years. … This was only Hatton's second missed cut in a major since 2021.  … For Scott, it was his 99th straight major, even though it lasted only two rounds. He'll hit 100 in a row next month at Shinnecock Hills.

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