The 2026 PGA Championship has come and gone, and Aaron Rai became the latest major winner.
Rai shot a terrific 5-under 65 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 9-under and win his first-ever major championship. It was also his best score in a major championship by two shots, as 67 is his best-ever score at a major.
However, one of the biggest things fans noticed with Rai is that he golfs with two gloves on his hands. It’s unique to wear two gloves, but Rai has explained in the past why he decided to wear two gloves.
Aaron Rai Details Why He Wears 2 Gloves
As Rai began having more success on the PGA Tour, many wondered why he wears two gloves.
Speaking to Dan Rapoport while he was on The Fore Play Pod, 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.”
Rai believes that if he golfed with just one glove, he would likely lose his PGA Tour card, as he said he can’t control his shots. Rai also pointed to baseball players who wear two batting gloves.
“Sean Foley mentioned it a couple of years ago in Las Vegas, just talking on the driving range,” Rai said. “He was talking about baseball, and everyone wears two gloves in order to be able to put more torque through the grip. He was surprised more people don’t do it, to create more distance and power.”
It appears the two gloves work as Rai has won the 2026 PGA Championship. Rai has one win on the PGA Tour as he won the Wyndham Championship in August of 2024. He did win the Abu Dhabi HBSC Championship in November, defeating Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff.
PGA Championship Purses
Aaron Rai won his first-ever major championship on Sunday by winning the PGA Championship.
By winning the PGA Championship, Rai will walk away from Aronimink Golf Club with $3.69 million as the tournament’s winner. As well as the money, Rai gets a lifetime exemption into the PGA Championship, five-year exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship, and Players Championship, as well as a five-year PGA Tour membership and a seven-year DP World Tour membership.
The purse list for the top-10 is as follows:
2026 PGA Championship prize money
- 1: $3,690,000
- 2: $2,214,000
- 3: $1,394,000
- 4: $984,000
- 5: $820,000
- 6: $727,600
- 7: $681,050
- 8: $636,400
- 9: $593,700
- 10: $553,000
The next PGA Tour event is The CJ Cup Byron Nelson from May 21-24 at TPC Craig Ranch. The next major will be the US Open, taking place from June 18 to 21, 2026. It will be held at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Why Does PGA Championship Winner Aaron Rai Wear 2 Gloves? appeared first on HEAVY.