{"id":696038,"date":"2026-05-26T16:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696038\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:43:16","slug":"pga-champion-aaron-rai-cant-get-his-hands-on-wanamaker-trophy-over-damage-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696038\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Champion Aaron Rai Can\u2019t Get His Hands on Wanamaker Trophy Over Damage Concern"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Aaron\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Aaron Rai hasn’t received PGA Championship trophy over damage concern<\/p>\n

Aaron Rai is still waiting to receive the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2026 PGA Championship, with the PGA of America repairing minor damage to the trophy before handing it over.<\/p>\n

The English golfer captured his first major title at Aronimink Golf Club earlier this month, finishing at 9-under par and three shots ahead of Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley. Rai earned $3.7 million for the victory and secured exemptions into golf\u2019s biggest tournaments, including all four majors and The Players Championship.<\/p>\n

Rai celebrated with his wife, Ladies European Tour player Gaurika Bishnoi, after the win and posed with the Wanamaker Trophy on the 18th green. However, the 31-year-old revealed this week that he still has not officially received the trophy because it is being repaired.<\/p>\n

Aaron Rai Says PGA of America Is Repairing Wanamaker Trophy
\n\"Aaron<\/p>\n

GettyAaron Rai of England celebrates with The Wanamaker Trophy<\/p>\n

Speaking to Golfweek, Rai explained that the Wanamaker Trophy suffered minor damage near the top and is currently being fixed before it is delivered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually haven\u2019t received it yet,\u201d Rai said. \u201cI think there was an issue with a bit of damage on the trophy, so they said they will send it in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rai added, \u201cI\u2019m not sure what exactly happened. But there was just a little bit of damage towards the top of the trophy, which they wanted to fix before it went anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under PGA of America rules, the PGA Championship winner keeps the official Wanamaker Trophy until the following year\u2019s tournament. Rai will return the trophy ahead of the 2027 PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas, and then receive a replica version.<\/p>\n

The PGA of America changed its replica policy in 2009. Before then, champions were required to purchase their own replica trophy, which was 10 percent smaller than the original. Winners now receive a replica free of charge.<\/p>\n

Rai became the first English golfer to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. He entered the final round two shots off the lead before shooting a 5-under 65 on Sunday at Aronimink.<\/p>\n

The turning point came on the par-5 ninth hole, where Rai made a 40-foot eagle putt. He later added a 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to secure a three-shot lead.<\/p>\n

The victory marked Rai\u2019s second PGA Tour title after previously winning the 2024 Wyndham Championship.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm Praise Aaron Rai After PGA Championship Win
\n\"Rory<\/p>\n

GettyRory McIlroy of Northern Ireland talks with Aaron Rai of England<\/p>\n

Several leading players praised Rai after his breakthrough major victory.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy said, \u201cAaron is getting away from the field a little bit and looks like he\u2019s going to win, which is great. You won\u2019t find one person on the property who\u2019s not happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jon Rahm also praised Rai\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard absolutely nothing but good or great things about Aaron Rai,\u201d Rahm said. \u201cHe\u2019s been playing great golf. He\u2019s a fantastic golfer. He\u2019s been able to perform really well. What he did today is nothing short of special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xander Schauffele added, \u201cI\u2019m super happy for him. He\u2019s such a good dude. Rarely do you see people work really hard. I mean, that\u2019s not fair. Rarely do you feel like people work way harder than you is what I was trying to say. Super pumped for him and his team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rai also credited Bishnoi for helping shape his career over the last several years. The couple married in 2025 and have caddied for each other during tournaments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to really sum up how much of an effect she\u2019s had on me as a person, and also that actually feeds into my golf,\u201d Rai said last year.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThis year has been truly special with us getting married, caddying for her, being with her, getting married, practicing, and playing together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rai is now expected to continue his season at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club, one of the PGA Tour\u2019s signature events.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDebayan Biswas<\/a> is a sports writer covering the NBA, NFL and Golf for Heavy.com. He focuses on breaking news, trades, and player stories. His work has been featured by Athlon Sports and Pro Football and Sports Network, with republication across platforms including Yahoo Sports and Yardbarker. More about Debayan Biswas<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Aaron Rai hasn’t received PGA Championship trophy over damage concern Aaron Rai is still waiting to receive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-696038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}