{"id":652442,"date":"2026-05-19T13:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652442\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T13:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:48:13","slug":"everything-yet-nothing-changes-for-pga-champ-aaron-rai-and-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652442\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything, yet nothing, changes for PGA champ Aaron Rai and wife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This story originally appeared in the \u201cLive From with Rex and Lav\u201d newsletter from the PGA Championship. Sign up<\/a> for more insight and entertainment during golf\u2019s biggest events.<\/p>\n

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. \u2013 His hands clasped behind his back, unfailingly polite, Aaron Rai is ticking through his final-day exploits on the 18th green at Aronimink.<\/p>\n

The perfectly shaped drives.<\/p>\n

The pinpoint approaches.<\/p>\n

The birdie bombs.<\/p>\n

With millions watching around the world, he is calm, confident, clearheaded.<\/p>\n

Everything he wasn\u2019t just 24 hours earlier at the PGA Championship.<\/p>\n

About 50 yards away, off the side of the green, Rai\u2019s wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, is telling a story.<\/p>\n

On the way home from the course on Saturday night, before they arrived back at their hotel, Aaron confided in her that he wasn\u2019t sure he was ready for the life-changing stakes ahead.<\/p>\n

Of course, he is far from the only world-class athlete to suffer a crisis of confidence at a critical moment; dominant world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler reached a similar inflection point<\/a> ahead of his breakthrough at the 2022 Masters, reduced to tears at the prospect of his staid, safe life getting upended by the fame and stardom that accompanies major success. In the years since, Scheffler has admirably insulated himself and his family from celebrity culture, eschewing opportunities to grow his brand or his wealth and remain true to himself.<\/p>\n

Rai longed for the same normalcy.<\/p>\n

His hard-earned journey to 150-1 major winner<\/a> was wildly unexpected. Born to working-class parents who immigrated to England from India and Kenya, Aaron\u2019s father abandoned his own dream of being a tennis pro to put a golf club in his son\u2019s hands at the age of 4, while Aaron\u2019s mother worked multiple jobs, including helping dementia patients, to provide for the family and cover rising membership and tournament fees. When Aaron was 8, and needing top-of-the-line equipment to match his growing talent, he was gifted a set of Titleist 690 MB irons by his father. Deeply appreciative of the sacrifice given their modest means, Aaron cherished the set so much that he cleaned each groove with a pin and baby oil, and he put iron covers on them to protect the long-term investment. He still uses the iron covers today, as a reminder and tribute to his parents.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Aaron practiced almost exclusively with his father, often siloed off from other juniors in the area, and during his formative years he played a customized course length that grew as he did. From his iron covers to his two gloves to his castle tees, Aaron was uniquely himself \u2013 and armed with the self-assuredness that his was the right path.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe kind of sheltered me to be able to develop in a way that made sense for me,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cBy the time he allowed me to play more club golf, I felt like I was strong enough in why I did certain things to be able to continue to move that forward. I knew the reasons why I do them. I believe in the reasons why I do them. So I had no reason to really shift from that as I got older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others could have tried. Told him to ditch the gloves. Speed up the routine. Add more power.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would change the person who tells him to change,\u201d Gaurika said with a laugh.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

After meeting Aaron at the 2018 Indian Open, Gaurika can\u2019t ever recall him verbalizing his goals and aspirations \u2013 majors, Ryder Cups, tour wins \u2013 and instead prefers to lose himself in the pursuit of self-improvement.<\/p>\n

She once took that to mean that he didn\u2019t believe he could achieve greatness.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he told her. \u201cThe moment I say it, I\u2019m putting too much pressure on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along the way, Aaron picked off some titles anyway, winning in Hong Kong and Scotland and Abu Dhabi, as well as on the PGA Tour in Greensboro in 2024, carving out a solid career, top 50 in the world, without any of the pitfalls of stardom.<\/p>\n

But now, at the age of 31, this PGA threatened to shatter that idyllic life of the unbelievable-but-unheralded tour pro.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said sometimes I feel that things around me are going to change too much if I do something too crazy,\u201d Gaurika said.<\/p>\n

That concept was unfathomable to Gaurika, an elite professional golfer herself with eight worldwide titles.<\/p>\n

A fear of being too good?<\/p>\n

\u201cI can assure you,\u201d she told him Saturday night, \u201cthat I will not let anything change around you because I\u2019m not someone who would change myself. No matter what happens this week we\u2019re going to be the same people. We\u2019re going to lead our lives the same way, and that\u2019s a choice we\u2019re going to consciously make.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing prepared for the attention and knowing where the line is for him so he can be true to himself,\u201d she added, \u201cthat\u2019s what makes Aaron unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Aaron crossed the line with that newfound freedom.<\/p>\n

Battling one of the most crowded leaderboards in major championship history, he ripped open the tournament by playing his final 10 holes in 6 under par, storming to a three-shot victory<\/a> in the strongest and deepest field of the year.<\/p>\n

And now?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Thumbnail\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Aaron Rai has done the unthinkable and seized the Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink Golf Club. Here\u2019s how much Rai nets from his first major victory. <\/p>\n

\u201cI promise you, nothing is going to change,\u201d Gaurika said, and it\u2019s impossible to doubt her as Aaron posed for photos and hugged friends and gave interviews.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll still live in the same house near TPC Sawgrass.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll still drive his most prized possession, a Honda Integra from the original \u201cFast and the Furious\u201d movie.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll still avoid social media, preferring to keep his successes and his struggles private.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll still practice on the back range with his wife, losing more than he wins in chipping and Trackman contests.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t drink or party. He\u2019ll enjoy a celebratory meal at Chipotle. And with any luck, with the adrenaline still pumping, he might be able to stay awake until midnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we want to live our lives, that\u2019s who we are as people,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s the most content man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sun was starting to set around the 18th green at Aronimink, and Gaurika politely excused herself from the conversation. She was needed elsewhere. It was time to take a family photo, to capture the moment that nothing \u2013 and everything \u2013 changed forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: This story originally appeared in the \u201cLive From with Rex and Lav\u201d newsletter from the PGA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-652442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}