Following a wild weekend at the PGA Championship, it was Aaron Rai who hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy for his first major championship win.
After a weekend of tightly contested competition at Aronimink Golf Club, Aaron Rai surged in Sunday's final round to claim the PGA Championship title.
Rai hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy following a final score of -9, three shots ahead of Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley. It is the first major tournament win for the 31-year-old Englishman, who made his major debut in 2017.
Throughout a tournament that seemed to have a new leader after each round, Rai separated himself with clutch putting down the final stretch. The highlight of these big-time sinks was a masterful 68-footer on Hole 17 to lock up a -5 day and the eventual three-shot winning margin.
Justin Thomas had a -5 round of his own, as the two-time PGA Championship winner made a serious push toward a third but fell short after Rai's heroics. He finished slotted in a tie for fourth after moving up 27 spots on Sunday with a final score of -5.
While Thomas barreled through the leaderboard, Sunday's biggest mover was Kurt Kitayama, who carded a round-best -7 to climb 54 spots to end in a tie for 10th.
For those closer to catching Rai, Smalley fell just shy after holding the lead entering Sunday. The 29-year-old was not only seeking his first major win but first-ever win on the PGA Tour. While he came up short, his -6 performance on one of the sport's biggest stages is an indicator of things to come from the young golfer.
The other second-place finisher, Rahm went -2 on the day to land his best ever finish at the PGA Championship at -6. However, he couldn't quite close the gap to notch his third major win at a third different tournament.
Rounding out the top five were Ludvig Aberg and Matti Schmid, who tied with Thomas at -5 after both carded a -1 on Sunday.
Other former tournament winners and big names on the Tour that finished within the top 10 included Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, who each went -4 at Aronimink to tie for seventh with Cameron Smith.
READ MORE: Alex Smalley Survives PGA Chaos To Keep Lead
Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler failed to defend his PGA Championship win from 2025 and had his worst finish at the tournament since failing to make the cut in 2022. He tallied a -2 to finish tied for 14th.
With two major tournaments down, the focus shifts to the U.S. Open next month at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Leading up to the next major showcase, the Tour will make a stop in McKinney, Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson from TPC Craig Ranch.