NICE GUYS DO FINISH FIRST

As Aaron Rai tapped in for par on the 18th hole at Aronimink Sunday, his celebration was, well, what you’d expect. Composed, understated, and eerily calm even though he had just won the biggest tournament of his life. There was no chest-thumping or manufactured swagger, which would have been justified given what he just accomplished.  

Three under par through 62 holes, Rai went ballistic over the final 10. An eagle on the par-five 9^th followed by four more birdies in controlled, stunning fashion meant a three-shot victory over Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley becoming only the second Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. 

In a sport increasingly requiring speed and power, Rai’s triumph felt like a reminder that there is still room for the strategists. The quiet achievers. Players who build careers one range session at a time, while the spotlight points elsewhere. 

Every once in a while, nice guys do finish first. 

Aaron Rai’s journey to a major took time as he climbed the golfing ladder the hard (and right) way. After turning pro at age 17, he (not surprisingly) struggled for a few years. But then he won a EuroPro event and graduated to the Challenge Tour. There he won three times, earning status on the European Tour, and after two victories in his first three years, he moved on to the PGA Tour gaining a card through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. He consistently improved each year before finally claiming a win at Greensboro in the 2024 Wyndham Championship. Now, with the PGA Championship on the resume, he will forever be known as a major champion.  

Reading about Rai’s background, I was fascinated to learn he started playing golf at Three Hammers Golf Club, a par three course not far from Brewood, an English village where my wife and I lived our first few years on the European Tour (my mum’s from Staffordshire, England, and still has family in Brewood). Three Hammers was only a few miles from Wolverhampton, near where Rai grew up. We’d regularly drive past it on the way to and from Birmingham airport for a tournament. Perhaps if I’d stopped in for a round, I would have seen a certain young man grinding away at his game with a few interesting accessories you don’t typically see pros entertain. 

Two gloves, iron covers, and castle tees. 

To most golfers, they are quirks. To Rai, they come from care and precision. He was given two gloves as an eight-year-old and simply got in the habit of wearing both. When his dad forgot to put both in his bag one day, he had to use only one and played badly. He’s stuck with two ever since.  

The iron covers are a show of respect for his parents who bought him an expensive set of clubs they really couldn’t afford at the time. He kept the clubs spotless, cleaning them meticulously after every practice session and round. The iron covers were another way to protect them. Even though he has access to an endless supply of equipment these days, they’re a homage to those early days.  

And the castle tees? They tee the ball up the exact same height every time. Another tiny variable controlled in a game built on margins. 

None of it is accidental. 

There have been thousands of balls hit on cold mornings, countless hours spent in the gym, and a willingness to keep doing simple things correctly long after the excitement disappears. One of the straightest drivers in professional golf with one of the steadiest temperaments under pressure, he’s the kind of player fellow pros respect because they understand how difficult consistency really is. 

And when the pressure of leading a major championship finally arrived, all those invisible hours surfaced at exactly the right moment. 

Rai’s victory also challenges a modern sporting myth that you need to become louder, brasher, or a performer to reach the top. He hasn’t traded humility for celebrity. He remains intensely polite, deeply thoughtful, and most importantly, true to himself. 

Hopefully, young golfers watching Rai last week took note of all this. The care, discipline, preparation, and respect for process. His PGA Championship win was not an overnight success story. And that is what made it beautiful. 

Because every once in a while, nice guys do finish first.