Ludvig Aberg had a front row seat as Aaron Rai put on an absolute clinic on his way to winning the PGA Championship at Aronimink on Sunday.
Rai produced some truly sensational golf down the stretch at Aronimink, playing his final 10 holes in six-under par to win by three from Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.
Meanwhile, Aberg finished four strokes adrift of Rai in the end.
Ludvig Aberg was paired with Aaron Rai for the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink.
Despite failing to win, he would have learned a lot from the way in which the 31-year-old Englishman closed out the PGA Championship in such style.
Aberg enjoyed playing alongside Rai on Sunday at the PGA, with the Swede left hugely impressed by the Englishman’s golfing ability.
However, something that Rai said to Aberg on the final green at Aronimink impressed the 26-year-old from Sweden even more.
Ludvig Aberg reveals what Aaron Rai said to him on the 18th before winning the PGA
Aberg seemed genuinely very pleased for Rai after the Englishman’s victory at Aronimink on Sunday.
Despite failing to win and being obviously disappointed as a result, he was left hugely impressed by something that Rai did on the final green.
Aberg revealed what Rai said to him on the 18th green, just before tapping in his putt to win the PGA Championship.
As quoted by Golf.com, the Swede said: “He’s just so polite. He’s got a putt to win his first major and he still said ‘good putt’ to me?
“He’s taking time to look me in the eye and say well done? That stands out. That’s really impressive.
“If there’s one guy I’d love to lose to, it’s probably him.”
What Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele said about Aaron Rai
Xander Schauffele raved about Rai after the final round of the PGA Championship.
“I’m super happy for him. He’s such a good dude,“ Schauffele said.
“Rarely do you see people work really hard. I mean, that’s not fair. Rarely do you feel like people work way harder than you is what I was trying to say.
“I feel like I’ve played a pretty good amount of time, and Aaron is always there. He’s always in the gym. He’s always on the range. He’s always — you know, at the Scottish, I’m staying right on site there. I thought it was fun for Austin and I to go putt. Aaron is finishing up his little putting session at 9:00 p.m. and going to the gym at 9:45.
“This was three years ago. I think that’s what it’s about to be a major champion. You put the work in when nobody’s looking. Super pumped for him and his team.
“He’s such a nice guy. All world gentleman, no doubt.“
And while Rahm doesn’t know Rai as well as Schauffele does, he echoed a very similar sentiment about the Englishman.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time with him. But I have heard consistently there’s very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai,“ the Spaniard said.
“Anybody that uses head covers in his irons because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment so much, and to still do it? Yeah, exactly, him still doing it shows a lot about him as a person.
“I have heard absolutely nothing but good or great things about Aaron Rai. He’s been playing great golf. He’s a fantastic golfer. He’s been able to perform really well. What he did today is nothing short of special.“
