Aaron Rai wins the PGA Championship at Aronimink with a 68-foot putt on 17 and bobody saw it coming

Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Finished 9-under 271, beat Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three strokes, and took home the Wanamaker Trophy in our backyard.

The first English golfer to win the PGA Championship in 107 years. Aaron Rai had +15000 odds before the first round. Nobody had this man winning a major championship this week. Nobody.

Aaron Rai is 31 years old, has been a professional since 2012, joined the PGA Tour in 2021, and had never finished better than 19th at a major tournament before this week. Then he showed up to a Donald Ross course 20 minutes from Center City Philadelphia and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in major championship history.

Aaron Rai’s 68-Foot Putt on 17 Was Absurd

If you haven’t watched the clip yet, stop reading and go find it. On the 17th hole Sunday with the tournament on the line, Rai drained a 68-foot birdie putt that essentially iced the victory.

AARON RAI FROM 68 FEET!! 🤯

He leads by 4 heading to his 72nd hole @PGAChampionship!pic.twitter.com/cX2htuthq5

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 17, 2026

Sixty-eight feet. The ball traveled from one zip code to another and somehow found the bottom of the cup. The crowd at Aronimink lost its mind. Rai barely reacted because I think even he couldn’t process what just happened.

That putt will go down alongside J.J. Spaun’s birdie putt at the U.S. Open last year as one of the most ridiculous putts in recent major championship history. The kind of shot that gets replayed for decades every time the PGA Championship comes up in conversation.

Another angle of Aaron Rai’s putt: pic.twitter.com/wH2oRYECcx

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 17, 2026

So Much for All the Pre-Tournament Storylines

We spent the entire week talking about Scheffler’s approach play rounding into form. We talked about McIlroy avoiding the post-Masters hangover. We talked about Spieth chasing the career Grand Slam for the 10th time. We talked about Justin Rose’s Aronimink history. We talked about Cameron Young being the hottest player in golf.

Aaron Rai was not in any of those conversations. He was +15000. A 150-to-1 longshot who nobody outside of his own camp considered a serious contender. The PGA Championship has increasingly been won by the very best golfers in the world. Six of the last eight winners had already won a major. We wrote about that trend earlier this week. Rai just shattered it. A guy with no major pedigree, no top-20 major finish in his career, walked into Aronimink and outplayed the entire field for four days.

That’s the beauty of major championship golf. You can analyze the trends and the form charts and the course history all you want. Sometimes a 31-year-old Englishman shows up, makes a 68-foot putt on 17, and walks off with the Wanamaker Trophy while the favorites pack their bags.

Rahm Finished Runner-Up

Jon Rahm finished three back in a tie for second with Smalley. After a disappointing Masters, Rahm played well all week at Aronimink but couldn’t catch Rai down the stretch. The 17th hole putt was the dagger. Rahm is still one of the most talented players in the world but the LIV move continues to coincide with close calls at majors rather than trophies.

A Major in Philly’s Backyard

Aronimink delivered. The course was beautiful, the competition was intense, and the outcome was something nobody predicted. Having a major championship played 20 minutes from Center City was a treat for the region and Rai’s victory gave the week a storybook ending even if it wasn’t the storybook anyone expected.

The first English winner of the PGA Championship since 1920. A 68-foot putt on the 71st hole. A 150-to-1 longshot hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy. Golf is wild.

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