Who’s Aaron Rai? How humble English golfer rose to win the PGA Championship and why he wears two gloves

Aaron Rai turned solely the second Englishman in 107 years to win the PGA Championship on Sunday, after the 31-year-old climbed to the highest of a packed leaderboard to clinch his first main title by three photographs.

The Wolverhampton-born golfer banked a $3.69m (£2.76m) cheque and a lifetime exemption to play on the PGA Championship.

However testifying to the Englishman’s self-effacing manner, Rai defined he’d be retaining the celebrations low-key, saying he and his spouse would “probably just go to Chipotle”.

Rai is extremely regarded by lots of his friends as some of the humble gamers on the PGA Tour. Jon Rahm, who completed three photographs behind Rai, tied for second, heaped reward on the 31-year-old on Sunday.

“I haven’t spent a lot of time with him, but I have heard consistently that there are very few people who are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai,” Rahm mentioned.

The Spaniard added: “What he did today is nothing short of special.”

That it was. Rai, who hoisted the Wannamaker Trophy into the air on Sunday afternoon at Aronimink Golf Membership, has loved a storied rise to the highest of {the golfing} world. Here is the way it occurred.

When did Rai begin enjoying golf?

Rai was born in Womborne, Staffordshire, in 1995 to a working-class household. His mom, Dalvir, immigrated from Kenya to England and had a number of jobs, notably working as a psychological well being nurse. His father, Amrik, whose household hailed from India, was an novice tennis participant and held a job as a group employee.

None of his household had performed golf earlier than, and as a baby, Rai wished to turn out to be an F1 driver.

He occurred upon golf when his dad instructed him his tennis stroke regarded extra like he was swinging a driver. His father purchased him a set of plastic golf golf equipment, and the remainder is historical past!

His household shortly discovered that Rai was a particular expertise. The Englishman performed in his first event when he was 4 and competed in opposition to children practically 3 times his age. He went on to win the online division of that occasion.

From there, his household supported his journey to changing into knowledgeable. His dad learn books to study extra concerning the golf swing and coached Rai within the fundamentals of the sport.

“It’s probably hard for me to really express everything that I feel towards them [my parents],” the 31-year-old mentioned on Sunday, talking on the sacrifices his mother and father made.

“I think I’ll get way too emotional to speak. Starting with my dad, he was with me every day I went to practice from the age of four to five. He actually quit his job and started to focus on my golf from a really young age.

“My mum has been completely unimaginable as properly. She works extraordinarily lengthy hours simply to supply for the home. She did a variety of issues, and her help has been phenomenal.

“I can’t put into words how much they’ve done in terms of support, the care and love. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

The healthful cause why Rai wears headcovers on his irons

Rai is without doubt one of the few gamers on the PGA Tour who nonetheless chooses to place headcovers on his irons, and there is a healthful cause why.

His dad purchased him a brand new state-of-the-art set of Titleist 690MBs when he was seven. Rai defined he has all the time worn head covers on his golf equipment to ‘recognize the worth of what I’ve’.

“I grew up in a working-class family, and golf has always been a very expensive game,” Rai instructed the PGA Tour’s Sirius XM.

“My dad used to pay for my equipment, he paid for my membership, paid for my entry fees. It wasn’t money that we really had, to be honest, but he’d always buy me the best clubs.

“I cherished [the Titleist 690MBs]. After we used to exit and observe, he used to wash each single groove afterwards with a pin and child oil, after which to guard the golf golf equipment, he thought it might be good to place iron covers on them.

“And I’ve pretty much had iron covers on all my sets ever since, just to appreciate the value of what I have.”

For Rahm, Rai’s determination to proceed placing headcovers on his irons attested to the Englishman’s character.

“Anybody who wears or uses head covers on his clubs because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment… and to still do it?” Rahm mentioned on Sunday, “That shows a lot about a person.”

Rai can be one of many few gamers who likes to put on two gloves. Usually, golfers solely put on one glove on their lead hand. Gamers will typically put on two gloves in wet or chilly situations.

When he was youthful, Rai’s father reached out to native newspapers to realize sponsorship alternatives for his son. A person wrote again and requested if he’d like to make use of a pair of his gloves.

“They were all-weather, and I’d wear one on each hand,” Rai, who has stayed loyal to the model all these years, mentioned to Golf Digest.

“I loved them. At practice, I forgot one and had to play with one glove. It was awful. I’ve played with two for 20 years, still that same brand: Macwet.”

Who’s his spouse? And what golf tour did she play on?

One other one who has performed an enormous half in Rai’s rise to the highest is his spouse, Gaurika Bishnoi, a former participant on the Women European Tour (LET).

Bishnoi starred in the course of the 2025 Masters Par Three Contest, the place she put her ball nearer to the pin than her associate on the ninth gap.

“Her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it’s technique or the way I’m holding myself, is absolutely invaluable,” Rai mentioned. “She encompasses so many alternative sides in her opinions.

“We even had a conversation yesterday for probably 30 minutes in the car before we got back to the hotel, speaking a little bit about today. Some of the things that she mentioned in those conversations were really with me.

“I actually would not be right here with out her.”

Rai’s path to the PGA Tour

The Englishman turned professional in 2012 and joined the Problem Tour (the DP World Tour’s feeder collection) in 2017. He received his DP World Tour card on the finish of that yr, earlier than occurring to assert his first victory on the circuit on the Hong Kong Open in 2018.

His second DP World Tour title got here on the 2020 Scottish Open, and 12 months later, he earned his PGA Tour card by the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

Rai’s first victory on the PGA Tour got here on the Wyndham Championship in 2024, and his most up-to-date victory got here on the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in November.

He credit a lot of his success to the work ethic his mother and father instilled in him when he was younger.

“There are a lot of guys who work extremely hard,” Rai mentioned. “The level on the PGA TOUR is so strong, let alone in a major championship. So I think that’s a prerequisite of what is just required to try and compete out here.

“It is very reaffirming to know the issues that we’re doing are working and resulting in continued growth throughout the sport. Hopefully, I can simply proceed to maneuver alongside a fairly comparable path shifting ahead.”

On his relentless work ethic, Rai added: “I think a lot of that has come from upbringing, my mom, my dad, my siblings.

“Golf was all the time a really huge a part of my life from a really younger age, however my mother and my siblings had been very fast to proceed to bolster the significance of simply being a very good individual and making an attempt to do the appropriate issues away from golf.”

What’s subsequent for Rai?

Rai’s win at Aronimink and Rory McIlroy’s win at The Masters mark the primary time within the trendy main period that two Europeans have received within the opening two majors of a golf season.

Whereas the Englishman’s attentions will shortly flip again to the PGA Tour, speak of him being included in Europe’s Ryder Cup Staff has been effervescent away.

“He is a chance at the US Open and the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale if the course is firm and fast,” Sky Sports activities Golf analyst Wayne Riley mentioned on Sunday.

“A whole lot of gamers, like Rory McIlroy, crank it down there.

“But you are going to come undone against a tactician who hits it on the fairway, never gets out of position and holes a few putts.

“Rai would not actually miss a heartbeat. He goes about his enterprise, and he’s an superior participant.

“He would be an awesome addition to the European Ryder Cup team.”

Rai is an skilled participant, and regardless of lacking the reduce at The Gamers, his inventory is on the rise, with two top-five finishes to this point this season. His sport will swimsuit Shinnecock Hills, the host of subsequent month’s US Open – a course that calls for precision in all areas of 1’s sport.

However true to his unassuming nature, Rai is taking issues one step at a time. On the time of writing, the Englishman is presently within the discipline to play at subsequent week’s PGA Tour occasion, The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

“I try not to consciously focus on it [the Ryder Cup] too much,” Rai mentioned. “These things are always around, whether it’s the Ryder Cup, whether it’s the next major. Those are things you can never completely ignore, but I try not to focus on them as real motivations to push me forward.

“I hope to proceed to maneuver in a fairly comparable method by way of observe, coaching, software in direction of the sport, and we’ll see the place that takes me.”

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Golf?

The PGA Tour heads to Dallas, Texas, next week, for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where Scottie Scheffler will look to once again defend his title.

Watch all four rounds live on Sky Sports, with early coverage of the first round starting on Sky Sports+ on Thursday at 12.45pm, before full coverage gets under way at 5pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract.