World No. 17 · England
Aaron Rai
2026 PGA Championship, 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship, 2024 Wyndham Championship
#17
World rank
#13
Best rank
8
Wins
1
Majors
50
Top 10s
Aaron Rai grew up in Wolverhampton, England, the youngest of four children in a family of Indian heritage; his mother emigrated from Kenya. He started with plastic clubs at age four and turned professional at just 17 in 2012, working his way up through the EuroPro Tour and then the Challenge Tour, where three wins in 2017 earned an instant promotion.
Rai is a precise, low-key ball-striker with some unusual habits: he wears gloves on both hands, puts covers on his irons and tees off with castle tees. He won the 2018 Hong Kong Open and 2020 Scottish Open in Europe before moving his focus to America through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in 2021.
His first PGA Tour title came at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, and he beat Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship. In May 2026 he won the PGA Championship at Aronimink as a huge long shot, closing with 65, to become the first Englishman to take that title in over a century.
World ranking history
Official World Golf Ranking position. Higher on the chart is better.
Show as table
| Year end | World ranking |
|---|---|
| 2026 | #17 |
| 2025 | #23 |
| 2024 | #22 |
| 2023 | #64 |
| 2022 | #134 |
| 2021 | #101 |
| 2020 | #81 |
| 2019 | #167 |
| 2018 | #123 |
| 2017 | #158 |
| 2016 | #370 |
| 2015 | #1060 |
| 2014 | #1549 |
Major championships
Finish at every major start. T = tied, MC = missed cut.
| Year | Masters | PGA | U.S. Open | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 48 | 1 | T11 | MC |
| 2025 | T27 | T19 | T33 | T34 |
| 2024 | · | T39 | T19 | T75 |
| 2022 | · | · | · | MC |
| 2021 | · | MC | · | T19 |
| 2017 | · | · | MC | · |
Wins 8
Wins in events counted by the Official World Golf Ranking.
-
2026
- PGA Championship Major Major
-
2025
- Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship DP World Tour
-
2024
- Wyndham Championship PGA Tour
-
2020
- Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open DP World Tour
-
2018
- Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi Asian Tour
-
2017
- Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge HotelPlanner Tour
- Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 HotelPlanner Tour
- Barclays Kenya Open HotelPlanner Tour
Season results
| Event | Finish |
|---|---|
| DP World India Championship | T20 |
| Bmw Pga Championship | T2 |
| BMW Championship | T16 |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | T63 |
| Wyndham Championship | T29 |
| The 154th Open | MC |
| Genesis Scottish Open | MC |
| Travelers Championship | T30 |
| U.S. Open | T11 |
| RBC Canadian Open | MC |
| the Memorial Tournament | T19 |
| PGA Championship | 1 |
| ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic | 5 |
| Masters Tournament | 48 |
| Valspar Championship | MC |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | MC |
| Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches | T23 |
| The Genesis Invitational | T28 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | T73 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | T50 |
| Event | Finish |
|---|---|
| Hero World Challenge | 18 |
| DP World Tour Championship | 41 |
| Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship | 1 |
| BMW PGA Championship | T3 |
| Omega European Masters | MC |
| Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo | T33 |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | T22 |
| Wyndham Championship | T5 |
| The 153rd OPEN | T34 |
| Genesis Scottish Open | T47 |
| Travelers Championship | T17 |
| U.S. Open | T33 |
| the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday | MC |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | MC |
| U.S. Pga Championship | T19 |
| Truist Championship | T23 |
| RBC Heritage | T38 |
| Masters Tournament | T27 |
| Texas Children's Houston Open | MC |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | T14 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard | T11 |
| Mexico Open at VidantaWorld | T4 |
| The Genesis Invitational | T37 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | T40 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | MC |
| The Sentry | T15 |
| Event | Finish |
|---|---|
| Hero World Challenge | T14 |
| acciona Open de España presented by Madrid | MC |
| BMW PGA Championship | T4 |
| Amgen Irish Open | T42 |
| BMW Championship | T43 |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | T16 |
| Wyndham Championship | 1 |
| The 152nd OPEN | T75 |
| Genesis Scottish Open | T4 |
| John Deere Classic | T7 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | T2 |
| U.S. Open | T19 |
| RBC Canadian Open | T14 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | T32 |
| U.S. Pga Championship | T39 |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | T4 |
| Corales Puntacana Championship | MC |
| Valero Texas Open | T58 |
| Texas Children's Houston Open | T7 |
| Valspar Championship | MC |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | T35 |
| Puerto Rico Open | T23 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | T19 |
| WM Phoenix Open | MC |
| Farmers Insurance Open | T33 |
| The American Express | MC |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | T57 |