From Augusta Curse to History: Aaron Rai, Englishman with Indian roots, is first British golfer to win PGA Championship in a century
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "From Augusta Curse to History: Aaron Rai, Englishman with Indian roots, is first British golfer to win PGA Championship in a century")
Aaron Rai, Englishman with Indian roots, is first British golfer to win PGA Championship in a century Photograph: (AFP)
Aaron Rai, the golfer with Indian roots, has become the first Englishman to win PGA Championship since Jim Barnes’ triumph in 1919. He won $3.69 million prize money.
At the Augusta Masters last month, Englishman Aaron Rai had won par-three contest before the tournament began. He made birdies on the last two holes to win the par-three contest and effectively took the curse which, as the folklore goes, barred him from winning the year's first major. He finished 48th at the Masters and proved the curse right which states that 'no par-three contest winner has been able to wear the prestigious green jacket in the same year.' Rai, however, was not worried about it and had said that time: "I'm not sure if it's a good omen or not, but just really nice to play well, enjoy it and share the experience with my family." Nearly a month later, he is the first English golfer to win the PGA Championship in over a century. Rai won year's second major and his first on Sunday (May 17) with a five-under final round score and nine-under in total.
Who is Aaron Rai?
Aaron Rai, 31, is an English golfer, born in Wolverhampton, who went pro at the age of 17 instead of going to the USA for college golf. He joined the PGA Tour in 2022 after being successful on the DP World Tour, previously European tour. Before winning the PGA Championship on Sunday (May 17), Rai, at best, had finished 19th at a golf major - at 2024 U.S. Open and 2025 PGA Championship.
Does Aaron Rai have Indian ancestry?
Yes, Aaron Rai does have Indian roots and is married to an Indian golfer as well. He was born on May 3, 1995 to Amrik Singh, son of Indian immigrants, and Dalvir Shukla, who had moved to England from Kenya with her parents as teenager. Rai's wife Gaurika Bishnoi is an Indian female golfer and multi-time winner of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
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What Rai said about his first golf major?
Rai credited his upbringing in the working-class family for his success and said: Golf was always a very big part of my life from a very young age, but my mom and my siblings were very fast to reinforce the importance of just being a good person and trying to do the right things. My dad instilled the importance of work and dedication and trying to consistently build just good, strong habits around the game. My mom worked extremely hard away from golf. She worked a couple of jobs at one time and she did a lot of work around the house.
"There was a lot of consistent messaging of hard work. It has been something I've just grown up with and I guess as I've got older, something that I've really valued and tried to continue to move forward with."
He also acknowledged his multi-nation roots and said: "I'm very proud to be from England. That's where I grew up. That's where a lot of my family still live. I'm very proud of India and Kenya as well. My mom still spends a lot of time in Kenya. Both of my sets of grandparents from my mom and dad's side were from India. I'm very proud of representing all three really."
