NEWTOWN SQUARE
The PGA Championship once used a slogan that only illustrated an identity crisis of a major often looked upon as the fourth of four.
“This is major,” it said, as if anyone should need a reminder.
The 108th edition was every bit of a major, right down to Aaron Rai joining a list of surprise winners that speaks to the beautiful meritocracy in the game and the shots he produced that will become part of PGA Championship lore.
Most memorable was a putt that determined only the margin of victory, just inside 70 feet across the par-3 17th green that Rai later said he was only trying to get close. The pace was perfect.
“Amazing to see that one go in,” Rai said.
No matter. It was an exclamation point, a shot that will get replayed as often as Shaun Micheel hitting 7-iron to 2 inches on the final hole at Oak Hill; Justin Thomas driving the par-4 17th green at Southern Hills in a playoff; Collin Morikawa hitting driver to 7 feet on the par-4 16th at Harding Park for the decisive shot in his first major title.
Not to be overlooked is Tiger Woods making that 6-foot par putt at Valhalla on the 72nd hole in 2000. He often refers to it as the most important putt of his career. And he made a lot of them.
It’s a long list, and every major has them.
That so many exceptional shots came from Rai, a 31-year-old who had never so much as contended in a major, is irrelevant.
Every major has surprise winners. Turn the page back one year to Oakmont to find J.J. Spaun making a 65-foot birdie putt — another major memory — to clinch the U.S. Open. It was only his second victory.
What added to the surprise of Rai was the cast of contenders he left in his wake.
Sunday at Aronimink featured 22 players within four shots of the lead, the most ever since the PGA Championship went to stroke play in 1958. That included eight major champions, another record for the PGA and the most for any major since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews.
Jon Rahm had a chance and simply couldn’t get it close enough for a reasonable look at birdie, or he missed the putt when he did.
“Not an easy task over here on these greens,” Rahm said.
No need telling that to Scottie Scheffler, who struggled all weekend to make short putts. He twice missed par putts from 3 feet on the back nine that summed up his week, his first finish out of the top 10 since the 2024 U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy thinks back on three holes: his failure to birdie the par-5 ninth and the par-5 16th, and a big miss in his biggest moment. He was two shots behind playing the par-4 13th, 299 yards to a back pin. McIlroy sent it so far right it was in deep rough along the 15th fairway. A birdie to get within one shot became a bogey that all but ended his best chance.
Xander Schauffele went from the front bunker over the 13th green, took two shots to get it up the slope to the putting surface and had to make a 15-foot putt for bogey. That was it for him, too.
Rai didn’t miss a fairway on the back except for the 13th — the front bunker that he converted for a birdie — and didn’t really miss an approach shot after the 10th hole.
This is the hallmark of someone who wins a major. It was beautiful golf, and Rai delivered some beautiful remarks after he summoned enough strength to lift that 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy.
“Golf is an amazing game,” Rai said. “It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game no matter what level you’re playing, no matter what course you’re playing on.
“And I think pretty much every guy on tour are incredible people, and I think the sport should be very proud of the ambassadors that represent the PGA Tour and represent the PGA of America.”
It was a big moment for the PGA of America, too.
Was it the right decision moving from August to May? That remains up for debate, although the northern courses since the calendar move in 2019 — Bethpage Black and Oak Hill in New York and Aronimink — have performed well.
Five of the seven PGAs in May since 2019 — the 2020 championship at Harding Park was held in August because of covid-19 — had a single-digit score to par for the winner.
The heritage of PGA Championship courses still lacks compared with the U.S. Open. But this one, much like Oak Hill, resembled a U.S. Open.
Kerry Haigh, the chief championships director at the PGA responsible for creating the test, made full use of the severely undulated greens at Aronimink that contributed to the bunched leaderboard, and required control of every shot from tee-to-green.
“Most of Monday and Tuesday I spent thinking what was wrong with me, because everybody was saying we were going to shoot 15- to 20-under here, and I didn’t see any chance in the world of that happening,” Rahm said.
Rai won at 9-under 271. Rahm and Alex Smalley were at 6-under 274.
“Still lower than what I expected,” Rahm said.
The opening round of the U.S. Open at storied Shinnecock Hills starts June 18, just 32 days after Rai won his first major. Now it’s whether that can live up to what transpired at the PGA Championship.
Because this was major.