Aaron Rai produced some truly magnificent golf at Aronimink last week as he ran away with the PGA Championship down the stretch.
Rai entered the week at Aronimink as somewhat of an unheralded name but he left as a major champion.
The 31-year-old Englishman played his final 10 holes in six-under par and, under the pressure of playing in the final round of a major championship, that was seriously impressive.
Aaron Rai did everything that was required of him down the stretch at Aronimink, while the game’s biggest names fell away during the latter stages of the PGA Championship.
Rai received huge plaudits from his fellow players after his PGA Championship win, and rightly so.
He is one of the hardest working, most down to earth players on the PGA Tour.
However, the Englishman is far from a star name.
Johnson Wagner makes statement on Aaron Rai after his PGA Championship win
Former PGA Tour player Johnson Wagner has just delivered a really interesting take regarding the PGA Championship last week.
When speaking on Golf on CBS, Wagner responded when asked to give his verdict on the setup at Aronimink throughout the week.
“I give Aronimink and Kerry Haigh like a 9.1 (out of 10),“ Wagner said.
“I mean, it was perfect.
“They had great weather conditions, and honestly, had it been Rahm, or Ludvig, or Rory, or Xander, or Scottie, any of those guys that had a chance, had they played the last 10 holes, like Aaron Rai, I think we would look at this being one of the greatest major championships of all time.
“Just because the fact that it’s Aaron Rai, I think a lot of people are questioning the setup and all that stuff.
“But I think had one of the big names separated, we’d be looking at this from a completely different lens.“
Wagner may be correct with his summary of the PGA Championship.
Had a big name like Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy won, of course there would have been more fanfare.
However, there is no doubt that Aaron Rai was totally deserving of his victory at Aronimink.
He had the best strategy all week long and he produced the goods when it mattered most under pressure.
Aaron Rai may not have been the most popular winner amongst golf fans, but he was certainly an extremely popular champion amongst his peers.
And that tells us all we need to know about the man.
