DUBLIN — Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship at Aronimink. He became the first Englishman to win the tournament since 1919.
After returning to Florida following his victory, Rai noticed immediate changes in his daily routine. While shopping at a grocery store in casual clothes, he was approached and congratulated by customers. At TPC Sawgrass, his walk from the parking lot to the practice range was delayed as people stopped him to offer their congratulations.
Rai called his father shortly after winning but reached only a voicemail because his father was asleep in his camper van in the United Kingdom. Rai left a message thanking him for years of support. His father later traveled from London to Ponte Vedra Beach to see him in person.
“Only after talking with my father about the win did it start to feel real to me,” Rai said. He described his father as a proud man who does not usually show much emotion. “His hug and smile were different this time.” Rai added that they spoke for about two hours after reuniting.
Rai also expressed deep gratitude for his long-time coaches, Andy Proudman and Piers Ward, whom he called more than instructors. “They’re mentors, big brothers, and family.” Proudman began working with Rai when he was about 4 years old, and Ward joined a few years later. Rai does not sell advertising space on his hat or shirt; instead, he uses those areas to promote their instruction business, 'Me and My Golf.'
Rai wears gloves made by MacWet Limited, a small English company that produces all-weather gloves for sailors, hunters, and equestrians. He is of Indian descent on both his mother’s and father’s sides, and his mother spent years in Kenya.