Rory McIlroy failed yet another driving test at the PGA Championship and will feel like he let a third Wanamaker Trophy slip through his fingers on a day where the big name players never stood up at Aronimink as Aaron Rai plotted his way to a maiden major title.
McIlroy now infamously labelled Aronimink as a golf course that required no strategy off the tee but it was soon apparent during round one that this course was tough and played into a plotters wheelhouse. He found that out again on Sunday as Rai’s methodical approach eventually saw him wear the course and the field down to win by three shots on nine-under after a closing 65 that was made to look routine.
McIlroy ranked 76th out of 82 players on Sunday in driving accuracy as he hit just four of fourteen fairways. He wasn’t in play enough to get close to pins and two birdies and one bogey suggest that when he was he wasn’t able to take full advantage. A three-putt from the front of the par-5 9th green was a momentum killer that he never recovered from.
McIlroy also failed to birdie the drivable par-4 14th and par-5 16th as more errant tee shots cost him prime position and he feels he could have had a proper crack at dislodging Rai down the stretch had he been able to grab the bread and butter birdies as his quest for a seventh major title ended with him sharing seventh place, five shots behind the Englishman.
“I think not birdieing the two par-5s and making the bogey at the drivable par-4 13th. To me I felt like I played the golf I needed to play the rest of the way. If I birdied the two par-5s and turned that 5 into a 3 on 13, the day looks very different.”
But Sunday was all about Rai. With over forty players within six shots of Alex Smalley’s overnight lead, Rai would have been overlooked for a host of big names like McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose, Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas and co. He stood up tall with a back nine of 31 as he became the f rst English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” said McIlroy of Rai.
As for Rai who has a quiet, understated and workmanlike persona yet is well known for wearing two gloves and using iron covers, this is a life changing victory.
The 31-year-old comes from a working class background and despite his tender years in golfing terms he feels like he has been on a whirlwind journey to get to the point of being a major champion.
“Yeah, it definitely feels like a journey. Everyone playing in the field this week has a great journey to be able to share, and I’m no exception to that.
“Yeah, so much goes into it from being a junior golfer to developing the game to have aspirations of turning professional. Then you realize once you turn professional how good some of these guys are and how strong the level of professional golf is, not just on the PGA TOUR, the DP World Tour, and all the feeders that go into it.
“So, yeah, it’s a really long journey to even get to compete at major championships at events like the PGA. Yeah, to be stood here, it still hasn’t sunk in for sure. Amazing journey.”
Rai looked as if he might fade away into the insignificance he has been used to in his career when he was one-over through eight holes of his final round but an eagle on the 9th burst him into life and he relished the position he was in with four birdies on the back nine including a 68-footer on the par-3 17th that all but sealed the victory.
“Definitely wasn’t trying to hole that put. The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for probably the last 10 feet. So that definitely helped with the visual of the putts.
“But it was so long that it was just trying to put good speed on it and make a good putt, and it just tracked extremely well on the last half. Yeah, amazing to see that one go in.”
Rai, the first player of Indian heritage to win a major, finished three clear of Rahm and Alex Smalley while Matti Schmid of Germany who is caddied by Chris Selfridge finished in a share of fourth with Thomas and Åberg on five-under.
“To be stood here is definitely outside of my wildest imagination,” said Rai. “Golf is an amazing game. 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 no matter what level you’re playing, no matter what course you’re playing on.
“So I think it just teaches so many amazing life skills. And I think pretty much every guy on TOUR are incredible people, and I think the sport should be very proud of the ambassadors that represent the PGA TOUR and represent the PGA of America.”
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