Newtown Square, Pennsylvania – Aaron Rai separates himself from the field and emerges victorious as the 2026 PGA Champion. Aaron Rai, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2024 at the Wyndham Championship put on a clinic on Sunday to seal a come from behind win for his first major.
This week’s second major was held at the notorious Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania which is only a 30 minute drive West of Philadelphia. While it is only the second time Aronimink has hosted the PGA Championship (1962), it was the first venue to host all three of PGA of America’s majors – Senior PGA, Women’s PGA, and the original PGA. Aronimink’s notoriety comes from its challenging layout that even the best players in the world struggle on. The cut being at four over par proved how hard it was playing the first two days.
However, there were plenty of low scores, they just were inconsistent from day to day. 2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer shot one of the low opening rounds of 67 but followed it up with several rounds above par to finish the weekend in a tie for 35th. 2026 WM Phoenix Open winner Chris Gotterup was medalist on Friday with a five under 65 but wasn’t quite able to follow that up with a low round, only managing a tie for tenth. Two time Masters winner Rory McIlroy had a solid week as the most recent major champion, finishing in a tie for seventh.
The last group on Sunday of Matti Schmid and Alex Smalley posted rounds of 69 and 70, respectively but it wasn’t enough to overcome the charging Aaron Rai. While Aaron had a bit of roller coaster front nine in his final round that yielded a one under 35, he went bogey free with four birdies on his back nine to separate himself to come from behind and seal a three shot victory for his first major championship victory.
While the PGA Tour heads to Texas next week for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, players will now start preparing for the next major in the US Open to be held at Shinnecock Hills in New York in June.
Aaron Rai What’s in the Bag:
Driver: TaylorMade M6 9 degrees (Mitsubishi Diamana BB 73 TX)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 15 degrees (Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X)
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 18 degrees (Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X)
Hybrid: Titleist TSR2 24 degrees (Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX)
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW (5-9) (True Temper Dynamic Gold S300)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (P, S, L) (True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300)
Putter: TaylorMade TP DuPage
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
- The 2026 PGA Championship Recap - May 17, 2026
- Arccos Air Shot Tracker Review - May 11, 2026
- PING i540 Irons Review - May 7, 2026
