The second major of the year concluded on Sunday with Aaron Rai winning the PGA Championship.
Rai ran away with it on Sunday to win the 2026 PGA Championship, which was rather surprising. Following his win, Rai withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this weekend at the TPC Craig Ranch.
Rai will be replaced in the field by S.Y. Noh.
Although Rai just won, major winners usually tend to take a bit of time off to celebrate. By winning the event, Rai is now 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings, which will get him into signature events, so he doesn’t need to play the smaller events.
When Rai will return is uncertain. But playing the Charles Schwab Challenge from May 28-31 or the Memorial Tournament on June 4-7 seems likely return dates for him.
Rory McIlroy, who didn’t even win the event, announced he’s taking the next two events off and will return at the Memorial.
Rai Draws Respect From Peers After PGA Championship Win
After Rai won the PGA Championship, several golfers shared high words for him.
Rai is well-respected by his peers, as McIlroy said everyone on Tour is happy that he won.
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” McIlroy said.
Xander Schauffele also had nice words for Rai following his win.
“Super pumped for him and his team,” Schauffele said. “All-world gentleman, no doubt.”
Two-time major champion Jon Rahm also praised Rai for his work ethic and how he views the game of golf. This is shown by Rai using iron covers.
“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 and to still do it? Yeah, it shows a lot about a person,” Rahm said. “What he did today is nothing short of special.”
Rai, meanwhile, was just glad to have success, but even without it, he knows golf will continue to teach him and others plenty of lessons.
“Golf is an amazing game,” Rai said. “It teaches you so many things. And it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game.”
Why Does Rai Wear 2 Gloves?
Along with iron covers, Rai also uses two gloves, which is odd.
However, speaking to Dan Rapoport while he was on The Fore Play Pod in 2024, Rai said it stems from his childhood and something he has stuck with.
“It would have started when I was very young, me and my dad used to be on the golf course in the winter, come rain or shine,” Rai said to Fore Play Pod back in 2024. “My hands used to get pretty cold. so I started to wear two gloves to keep my hands warm in the winter months.
“The next summer, I went back to wearing one glove. But I had a really bad grip in my hands. I was used to wearing two gloves that winter, and just stuck with it ever since. Even now, when I try to hit short game shots, I can do it. But the grip in my hands is bad, just from being so accustomed to wearing two gloves.”
The two gloves worked as Rai is now a major champion after winning the 2026 PGA Championship.
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