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SOUTHPORT, England — Newly-crowned PGA champion Aaron Rai is used to long journeys, having grown up in the West Midlands of England. From the middle of the country, he had to drive several hours to watch the Open Championship as a fan at venues along England’s and Scotland’s coastlines. But he had no qualms setting an awfully early alarm to drive 5½ hours with his father to watch Tiger Woods play a practice round at the 2013 Open at Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland.
“Yeah, we’d heard [Woods] generally likes to play very early in the morning, so we left at 1am to try get there for 6:30-ish is,” Rai told Golf Digest on Tuesday at Royal Birkdale. “We caught him on the second hole, and I think that was the second time I’d seen him, so it was incredible to watch. It was good to see what goes on around him. I was 18 at the time. I didn’t appreciate all the things he has to do and navigate. It was incredible seeing him.”
Rai had turned pro the year earlier, as a 17-year-old. Seeing Woods in person wasn’t even enough to picture himself become a major champion, a title he earned at this year’s PGA at Aronimink.
“Not massively, no,” Rai said when asked if 2013 inspired his journey to the major winner’s circle. “I had turned pro the year before and I was playing on satellite tour, the Europro Tour, and my journey was a long way away from events like the Open.”
Rai finally met Woods in person at the 2023 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club and walked the par-5 11th with the 15-time major champion.
“I walked nine holes in the pro-am with him and, similarly [to 2013], I woke up quite early just to try and catch up,” Rai added. “I felt really nervous meeting him, but he was so nice to me made me feel very comfortable. He spoke to me all the way down from his tee shot to his second shot. Those things to me feel like full circle moments.”
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His career indeed became full circle when, on Tuesday at Royal Birkdale. Rai, now 31, sat in a press conference at the 154th Open and answered questions about his newfound fame in the aftermath of winning the PGA.
Rai’s celebrity ascended to new heights when a tweet came from Buckingham Palace about his Aronimink triumph.
“I think the biggest symbol of that immediately after the PGA was a tweet from the royal family,” Rai said. “That's huge. And an impact that is way bigger than golf. So I think that was maybe put into perspective that maybe this has reached an audience that was wider than just the game. I couldn't quite believe that when I saw it.”
There wasn’t an opportunity to bask in the glory of his Wanamaker Trophy given Rai played five of the next eight weeks include a T-11 at the U.S. Open.
Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Rai is learning to deal with the demands on his time as a major champion.
“The best side effects [are] obviously feeling extremely proud of the achievement and internally seeing my relationship to the game over the past couple of months, even after achieving something as big as what that is, that I still have the same enjoyment and passion and application to the game,” he said. “Maybe the most challenging [is] just time commitments really and kind of scheduling my time, still getting my practice in, doing all the things that I need to do in terms of golf, but also making space for myself and my family. That's been a little trickier since then, but that's also part of the learning curve and part of what comes with the next step of that. Yeah, it's been great overall, though.”
While Rai, a previous winner at the 2024 Wyndham Championship and four times on the DP World Tour, is not the PGA Tour’s longest hitter, he is ranked 23rd in approach play and is hoping a baked out Royal Birkdale will play into his hands.
Aaron Rai was a guest at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Shaun Brooks - CameraSport
“I think it's a brilliant golf course; it's definitely changed quite a bit in the last two weeks,” Rai said. “It was quite lush and green when I came here and relatively soft as well, fairways and greens. So it was quite a surprise playing a few holes on Sunday, seeing it as brown as what it was in the space of, I think, 10 days.
“I think it plays phenomenally. It's a great layout. Obviously, a huge amount of history at Birkdale. It's a real iconic Open venue. Yeah, I think it will be a true test of golf. I'm looking forward to getting started this week.”
One can only imagine how high Rai’s profile would soar if he were able to win the U.K. major and be the first English player to hoist the claret jug since Nick Faldo in 1992.
But such a journey has to start somewhere.
Continue reading...
“Yeah, we’d heard [Woods] generally likes to play very early in the morning, so we left at 1am to try get there for 6:30-ish is,” Rai told Golf Digest on Tuesday at Royal Birkdale. “We caught him on the second hole, and I think that was the second time I’d seen him, so it was incredible to watch. It was good to see what goes on around him. I was 18 at the time. I didn’t appreciate all the things he has to do and navigate. It was incredible seeing him.”
Rai had turned pro the year earlier, as a 17-year-old. Seeing Woods in person wasn’t even enough to picture himself become a major champion, a title he earned at this year’s PGA at Aronimink.
“Not massively, no,” Rai said when asked if 2013 inspired his journey to the major winner’s circle. “I had turned pro the year before and I was playing on satellite tour, the Europro Tour, and my journey was a long way away from events like the Open.”
Rai finally met Woods in person at the 2023 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club and walked the par-5 11th with the 15-time major champion.
“I walked nine holes in the pro-am with him and, similarly [to 2013], I woke up quite early just to try and catch up,” Rai added. “I felt really nervous meeting him, but he was so nice to me made me feel very comfortable. He spoke to me all the way down from his tee shot to his second shot. Those things to me feel like full circle moments.”
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Instruction British Open 2026: Rory McIlroy's range wind golf swing problem, explained His career indeed became full circle when, on Tuesday at Royal Birkdale. Rai, now 31, sat in a press conference at the 154th Open and answered questions about his newfound fame in the aftermath of winning the PGA.
Rai’s celebrity ascended to new heights when a tweet came from Buckingham Palace about his Aronimink triumph.
“I think the biggest symbol of that immediately after the PGA was a tweet from the royal family,” Rai said. “That's huge. And an impact that is way bigger than golf. So I think that was maybe put into perspective that maybe this has reached an audience that was wider than just the game. I couldn't quite believe that when I saw it.”
There wasn’t an opportunity to bask in the glory of his Wanamaker Trophy given Rai played five of the next eight weeks include a T-11 at the U.S. Open.
Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Rai is learning to deal with the demands on his time as a major champion.
“The best side effects [are] obviously feeling extremely proud of the achievement and internally seeing my relationship to the game over the past couple of months, even after achieving something as big as what that is, that I still have the same enjoyment and passion and application to the game,” he said. “Maybe the most challenging [is] just time commitments really and kind of scheduling my time, still getting my practice in, doing all the things that I need to do in terms of golf, but also making space for myself and my family. That's been a little trickier since then, but that's also part of the learning curve and part of what comes with the next step of that. Yeah, it's been great overall, though.”
While Rai, a previous winner at the 2024 Wyndham Championship and four times on the DP World Tour, is not the PGA Tour’s longest hitter, he is ranked 23rd in approach play and is hoping a baked out Royal Birkdale will play into his hands.
You must be registered for see images attach
Aaron Rai was a guest at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Shaun Brooks - CameraSport
“I think it's a brilliant golf course; it's definitely changed quite a bit in the last two weeks,” Rai said. “It was quite lush and green when I came here and relatively soft as well, fairways and greens. So it was quite a surprise playing a few holes on Sunday, seeing it as brown as what it was in the space of, I think, 10 days.
“I think it plays phenomenally. It's a great layout. Obviously, a huge amount of history at Birkdale. It's a real iconic Open venue. Yeah, I think it will be a true test of golf. I'm looking forward to getting started this week.”
One can only imagine how high Rai’s profile would soar if he were able to win the U.K. major and be the first English player to hoist the claret jug since Nick Faldo in 1992.
But such a journey has to start somewhere.
Continue reading...
