Aaron Rai hasn’t received the Wanamaker Trophy since his 2026 PGA Championship win. The prestigious PGA Championship title is his until 2027, when he will play the major again. But the PGA of America is making him wait, and the Englishman knows why.

Rai recently explained the reason to Adam Schupak of Golfweek: “We actually haven’t received it yet. I think there was an issue with a bit of damage on the trophy, so they said they will send it in the coming days. I’m not sure what exactly happened. But there was just a little bit of damage towards the top of the trophy, which they wanted to fix before it went anywhere.”

While Rai has to wait for his, Walter Hagen infamously didn’t present the Wanamaker Trophy for three consecutive years from 1926 to 1928. He forgot it behind a taxi in 1925. The American legend kept winning the major until 1927 and kept arguing that he didn’t need to present it because he was still the champion. But in 1928, Hagen had to reveal he lost it after Leo Diegel claimed the title.

Rai can only keep the Wanamaker Trophy with him until May 17, 2027, after which he has to take it with him to the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas, for the next edition of the PGA Championship. After that, the PGA of America will provide him with a replica of the Wanamaker Trophy.

Interestingly, until 2009, PGA champions had to purchase a replica trophy that was 90% the size of the original after a year. Since then, the PGA of America has been giving the replica free of cost.

After four grueling rounds of challenges, Rai stood out. He became the first golfer in the history of the PGA Championship to have a better score after each round. And the Englishman delivered the killer blow on Sunday with a 5-under 65 when everyone else was struggling.

Aaron Rai wins the Wanamaker Trophy and the love of the entire golf world

Greg Norman posted on his Instagram, “Congratulations to the champion, Aaron Rai, on your first major. Your humility, passion, love, and respect for what you have and what you got here is a breath of fresh air. May success continue to flood your way.”

It’s difficult to earn praise from the Great White Shark. To get him to share a picture of you on Instagram with such a complimentary caption is certainly extraordinary. Then again, his peers also didn’t hold back on acknowledging his efforts. Big names like Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Jon Rahm gave him a lot of praise.

McIlroy told the media, “Aaron is getting away from the field a little bit and looks like he’s going to win, which is great. You won’t find one person on the property who’s not happy for him.”

Rahm also said to the reporters, “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.”

Schauffele commented, “I’m super happy for him. He’s such a good dude. 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. Super pumped for him and his team.”

While they shared their disappointment, they couldn’t help but acknowledge how amazing the Rai was.