[Winners Club] Rai Loves This Putter

by Roh Woolae

Published 19 May.2026 01:00(KST)

Updated 19 May.2026 07:37(KST)

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Conquers Second Major at the PGA Championship

Victory Secured with Two Long Putts on Final Day

Equipped with TaylorMade Spider Tour V Putter

'The Magician with the Black Glove,' Aaron Rai (England), has made history.

On May 17 (local time), he claimed a three-stroke victory at the second major tournament of the 2026 season, the PGA Championship (total prize money: $20.5 million), held at Aronimink Golf Club (par 70, 7,394 yards) in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA.

Rai captured his second career victory, and his first since winning the Wyndham Championship in August 2024, receiving a winner’s purse of $3.69 million (approximately 5.5 billion won). Notably, he became the first English player in 107 years to hoist the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes (1916, 1919).

Aaron Rai is smiling brightly while holding the Wanamaker Trophy immediately after winning the PGA Championship. Newtown Square=Photo by AFP

His putting on the greens was exceptional. Rai had a TaylorMade Spider Tour V putter, known for its forgiveness and consistency, in his bag. On this day, he secured two long putts to clinch the major title. During the final round, he made a 12-meter eagle putt on the par-5 9th hole to take the lead. Then, on the par-3 17th hole, he drained a remarkable 21-meter birdie putt to seal the victory. His average putts per hole for the four rounds was 1.50 (ranked 1st).

In a post-victory interview, Rai said, "This year has been tough because of a neck injury. Just being able to compete in this tournament felt like a dream, but to actually win is even harder to believe." Regarding the decisive putt on the 17th hole, he added, "I wasn’t really trying to make that putt, but the shadow gave me a great line for the last 10 feet (about 3 meters), and that helped."