The wait is finally over. Aaron Rai has etched his name into golf folklore, capturing his maiden major title at the PGA Championship with a nerveless final-round 65. The 31-year-old Englishman delivered when it mattered most, making birdies on four of the closing eight holes to become the first Englishman to lift the Wanamaker Trophy in 107 years.

In a pressure-cooker finish at formidable Aronimink, Rai produced the shot of the championship, a spectacular 68-foot birdie putt that snaked across the 17th green and dropped with the weight of history behind it. That knockout blow sealed a three-stroke victory over two-time major winner Jon Rahm and American Alex Smalley, with Rai finishing 72 holes on nine-under 271.

“Very surreal,” said Rai, who has battled a neck injury throughout the season. “It has been a frustrating season so to be standing here is outside my modest imagination.”

Breaking through the century barrier

The magnitude of Rai’s achievement cannot be overstated. He becomes only the second English player to win the PGA Championship, following Jim Barnes who captured the inaugural titles in 1916 and 1919. For over a century, despite England’s rich golfing heritage, no compatriot had managed to break through at this prestigious major.

“Extremely proud,” Rai said. “There’s a lot of incredible and historic English players over those hundred years who have gone on to achieve incredible things and had phenomenal careers. To be the person that’s the first one to have won it in a long time from England is an amazing thing and something to be extremely proud of.”

The triumph marks a stunning turnaround for a player who had never finished better than 19th in 12 prior major starts. Rai collected a $3.69 million winner’s cheque from a record purse of $20.5 million and, more importantly, secured his place in major championship history.

The back-nine blitz

Playing cautiously in swirling winds on Aronimink’s notoriously sloped greens, the world’s elite found themselves in a dogfight that turned decisively when Rai launched his charge. After dropping a shot at the eighth, he answered emphatically with a 40-foot eagle putt at the par-five ninth that ignited his surge.

The Englishman then delivered a masterclass in pressure putting. A four-footer found the bottom of the cup at the 11th, followed by a confident seven-footer at 13 that pushed him to seven-under, the first player to reach that mark all week.

Germany’s Matti Schmid, hunting his first PGA Tour title in just his fifth major start, refused to buckle. The young talent drained a birdie from just inside nine feet at 13 to pull within one stroke, setting up a thrilling finale.

But Rai had championship golf coursing through his veins. At the par-five 16th, he found the green in two, setting up a tap-in birdie that extended his cushion. Then came the defining moment.

The putt heard round the golfing world

Standing on the par-three 17th tee, Rai faced a 68-foot birdie attempt that rolled over a ridge with the championship hanging in the balance. As the ball tracked towards the hole, gathering pace, it disappeared into the cup to roars from the galleries. Rai had reached nine-under, whilst Schmid’s bogey at 15 left the Englishman ahead by four strokes with two holes remaining.

“I definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt,” Rai admitted. “The shadow gave the putt a nice line the last 10 feet so that helped. It was about the speed of the putt. Nice to see it go in.”

The challengers fall short

Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, mounted a credible challenge with a birdie at nine to reach five-under, but managed just a single bogey and eight pars on the back nine. The Spaniard couldn’t find the required magic on Aronimink’s treacherous surfaces.

“I played really good golf,” Rahm said. “Just wish I’d have done better with the speed of the greens. Just couldn’t seem to get it to the hole, and that’s the reason why I didn’t hole any more putts. Even so, what Aaron did today, catching him could have been very difficult. I feel like I was still close on that playing 16 until he made that long putt.”

Unheralded Smalley, competing in only his fifth major, teed off Sunday with a one-stroke lead and nine major winners lurking within four shots. But a double bogey at the sixth and another dropped shot at the par-three eighth derailed his challenge, despite a spirited eagle-bogey-birdie finish.

American Justin Thomas, Germany’s Matti Schmid, and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg shared fourth place on 275, whilst world number two Rory McIlroy, fresh off his sixth major title at last month’s Masters, posted a 69 to share seventh on 276 alongside American Xander Schauffele and Australian Cameron Smith.

American Kurt Kitayama provided the day’s other headline, firing a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 to match the lowest final round in major golf history. “I’m ecstatic,” Kitayama said.

Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler signed for a 69 to finish on 278, unable to mount a serious challenge.

From Greensboro to glory

Rai’s journey to major championship glory has been anything but straightforward. His only PGA Tour title came at Greensboro in 2024, whilst he captured his third DP World Tour title last November in Abu Dhabi. The neck injury that plagued him throughout this season made his Aronimink triumph all the more remarkable.

Now, the man from central England can add his name to the illustrious list of major champions, joining an exclusive club and ending England’s 107-year wait for PGA Championship glory. The Wanamaker Trophy heads across the Atlantic in English hands.