No, it’s not Halloween yet. It’s May. But, as Sheriff Leigh Brackett (“Halloween,” 1978) once said, “everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” The 54-hole leader, Alex Smalley, had plenty, including Aaron Rai, who came on top to become the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since 1919.

It was a long time coming for Rai, who last won at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. On Sunday at Aronimink, he shot 65 to win his first major. After dropping his final putt for the day, he tipped his cap to the crowd, cracked a smile, then hugged his caddie and wife, Gaurika, in turn.

Rai’s scorecard for the week looked something like this: 70-69-67-65. With those kinds of scores, he has become the first man since Mark O’Meara at the 1998 Masters to improve his score each round en route to a major, and the first ever to do that at the PGA Championship.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

Who Is the Defending Champion of the 2026 John Deere Classic?

Eric ColeBrian CampbellZach JohnsonJackson Koivun

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

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It was one memorable day, however. 54-hole leader, Smalley (T2) began with pars on the first two holes, briefly sharing the lead with Jon Rahm.

Meanwhile, Matti Schmid (-5/T4) chipped in with birdies at the second and the fourth to join the -5 group. Trouble bit Smalley again at the sixth with a double bogey. That dropped him two behind the new leader, Schmid. However, as Schmid floundered on the 10th, Rai was quietly making moves; a birdie on the 11th pulled him level with Schmid.

When Schmid bogeyed the 10th, Rai found himself solo atop the leaderboard for the first time all week. Even when his tee on the 13th buried itself in a front‑of‑green bunker, he still rattled home a birdie to keep a two‑shot cushion.

Schmid closed to within a shot with a birdie at 14, but Rai answered with his own birdie at 17 to keep him at arm’s length. After sinking the second-longest putt of the week (68 feet), Rai scooped the ball from the cup, grinned at his caddie, and nodded at the cheering gallery.

The run on the 18th was fine, too, after his tee shot landed in the right fairway. Then, as he walked towards the fairway, the crowd welcomed Rai with a standing ovation. A second shot landed him on the green, and he putted for a par for his first Wanamaker Trophy.

He almost didn’t make it. Rai fell to -3 after bogeys at the 6th and on the 8th and looked to be sliding out of contention. Then the eagle putt on the 9th turned the tide. He didn’t let go of that the entire day.

But it was a valiant effort from everyone.

Worth remembering is that neither Schmid nor Smalley had an easy run chasing a first win. They were squaring off against genuine greats, so the nerves were expected. The field read like a who ’s-who: Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, and even Arnold Palmer have been through such collapses.

And, as we said, they faced plenty of scares.

Justin Thomas (T4), for one thing, began R4 six shots off the lead, but did not stay far for long. After a hiccup with a bogey on the 3rd, he made birdies on the 7th, 9th, and 11th to work his way into a tie for the seventh.

Another birdie on the 15th pulled him to -4, and after a decent escape from a greenside bunker on the 16th, he climbed the leaderboard again, moving to -5, just one off the lead. A par on the 18th helped him close the day with a 65. That putt had just given him a solo second for a brief moment. Soon enough, Cameron Smith, Rai, and others joined him in a tie for second.

In fact, five players were tied at second on Sunday morning, a figure that, according to stats guru Justin Ray, was the most entering the final round of a PGA Championship since 1993. That’s because, despite the complaints from Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the pros had been unable to separate themselves from the crowd. The course has been, for the most part, tameable.

Talk about Scheffler’s erratic weekend round, for example.

He started the day tied for 23rd, five shots off the lead. Again, as per Ray, no player outside the top 20 after 54 holes has ever won a major, so the odds weren’t exactly in Scheffler’s favor. But he did try to defend his title.

A birdie on the second got him going, but he failed to save par on the 5th. Another birdie on the 9th moved him to -2, and one on the 13th pushed him -3 before a bogey on the 14th dropped him back to -2. He birdied the 16th, bogeyed the 17th, and made par on the 18th to card a 69 for the day, finishing T14. It’s his 8th finish outside the top-10 in a major. Now, he will look to complete his grand slam next month at the U.S. Open to join McIlroy and others.

Speaking of McIlroy (-4/T7), he was again an amazing story to follow through. A birdie at the 2nd pushed him into a tie at -5. He saved par on the 9th but looked peeved. Ironic, since the 9th had been the week’s easiest hole. But his pars on the 17th and 18th ended any of his dreams to win the second major of the season. Playing partner, Xander Schauffele, also ended the day with a 69 for a T7 finish.

But for Rai… this was a memorable day, and he’d probably thank not only his family but also Shaun Ball, the coach of a course where Rai practised. At that time, Ball advised Rai’s father, “Put Aaron in different situations and let him figure it out.”

And perhaps both of them heeded the advice, playing on a course as difficult as Aronimink and coming on top.

Congratulations, Rai!