If you didn’t watch the PGA Championship yesterday, you really missed out.
It was a deadlocked leaderboard where several dozen players began the round with aspirations of winning the Wanamaker. Most thought one of the stars would break away from the pack.
But just as we were heading towards total chaos and the prospect of a 10-man playoff, the unlikeliest of heroes emerged for his first major title.
England’s Aaron Rai shot a final round 65 to claim victory by three shots, completely dominating down the stretch. Rai got off to a slow start but made eagle on No. 9 and then took control of the tournament with birdies on Nos. 13 and 16. He holed home a 68-foot bomb for birdie on 17, and that was all she wrote.
Rai may not be the most popular player out there, and for good reason. He entered the week ranked No. 63 on Data Golf and No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking. His only top-10 finish this year came at the ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic. He didn’t even qualify for the signature event that week and had to play the opposite field.
The 31-year-old had three European Tour wins and a PGA Tour win before that, but had never finished in the top 10 at a tournament before. Now he is a big winner.
However, it goes even deeper than that. On an Aronimink course that favored bombers and was tricky on steeply pitched greens, nothing about Rai’s profile would suggest he would succeed. He’s well below the Tour average off the tee and onto the green.
This season, Rai ranks 160th in driving distance and 117th in putting. Last year, he was 171st in driving distance and 132nd in shooting.
Regardless, Rai gained nearly four shots on the green this past week. He also gained little off the tee, relying on his accuracy rather than power.
He is one of the greatest stunners golf has ever seen. Rai came in the week of 200/1 odds.
The story behind Rai’s unique gear choices
Rai is an interesting story on multiple levels, especially with his gear.
As my colleague Brittany points out, he uses iron covers for a very healthy and justified reason. That move would normally be laughed at in golf circles, but not in Rai’s case.
But this choice, while intriguing, is not something that directly affects his golf.
Here are three unique gear choices that Rai makes – all of them directly affect his golf-that ensure he stands out among the Tour crowd.
1. He wears two gloves
Most notably, Rai, unlike almost every Tour pro you can name, uses two black gloves.
Gloves are Original MacWet Micromesh Glovestraditionally used as rain gloves – although Rai sticks with both gloves regardless of the conditions.
“It started when I was 8 years old,” Rai explained to Golf Monthly. “As soon as I got these two gloves, the guy who actually makes them sent a pair over and I got into the habit of wearing them. Then a few weeks later, my dad forgot to put the two gloves in his bag, so I had to play with one. It was terrible. I couldn’t play, I couldn’t feel the gloves stuck, so I always kept the gloves on.”
You have been playing the same gloves for more than 20 years. Talk about dedication.
Rai removes the gloves to put them on. He also usually removes a glove for bunker shots.
But as for the rest of his shots? He likes that extra grip and control of the club.
It eliminates problems like sweat and provides a “fuller”, safer control. Most people don’t because the feeling element is thrown out, but Rai likes the feeling of having two grips.
Don’t be surprised when everyone shows up at your local commune ready to try this.
2. He is playing a 7-year-old driver
Nowadays, Tour pros are constantly changing their driver because technology improves so much. If you see an old stick in your bag, it’s usually a cheap stick or a barrel.
However, Rai is an extremely rare driver. He’s still playing the TaylorMade M6, which first came out in 2019. Given that it was before the pandemic, that may have been a lifetime ago.
His M6 has 9 degrees of loft and features an Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX shaft.
As mentioned, Rai is not too far off the tee and is clearly not chasing the distance. He’s probably leaving a good chunk of yardage on the table by sticking with an older driver model.
However, he is deadly accurate. He ranks fourth in driver accuracy on Tour this year.
Sometimes being in the game all the time has its advantages. It’s not just about power.
3. Rai uses orange castles
While not as critical as his gloves or driver, Rai’s decision to use the castle’s orange tees is definitely an intriguing one.
These are tips that have an indentation so they can be set at the same height every time.
The idea is very simple: Instead of sticking the ball at different heights using a traditional jersey, the castle tee ensures that the height never changes.
In Rai’s mind, it’s one less variable to worry about. Repeatability.
These tees are more associated with 20-handicap weekend hacks than a major champion… but Rai just captured the PGA Championship with them, so maybe he has a point here.
Rai proves that it doesn’t matter what your game looks like
There are many ways to be successful at golf.
Rai does things a little differently. He has an ancient driver, wears two rain gloves, uses castle castles, and has iron hoods. How many professionals would be willing to do even one of theselet alone everyone?
But the golf ball doesn’t care. Rai has been willing to do the work and do things his way.
I love this quote from Xander Schauffele that talks about Rai’s work ethic.
“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 field,” Schauffele said. “In Scots, I’m standing right there. I thought it was fun for Austin and I to shoot putts. Aaron’s finishing his little gym session at 9:45 p.m. and going to the gym at 9:45 p.m. That was three years ago. I think that’s what makes you a great champion. You put in the work when no one’s looking.”
Rai has put to work. Regardless of how it looks.
Main photo caption: Aaron Rai holds the Wanamaker Trophy. (GETTY IMAGES/Michael Reaves)
