![\"Aaron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aaron-rai-won-his-first-major-title-after-claiming-the-pga-championship.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRory McIlroy had nothing but kind words for Aaron Rai following the Englishman’s stunning PGA Championship triumph on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Northern Irish star, who finished five shots behind the winner, made clear just how popular Rai is among his fellow professionals.<\/p>\n
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” McIlroy said.<\/p>\n
It’s a sentiment that speaks volumes about the 31-year-old, who claimed his maiden major title as a considerable outsider.<\/p>\n
Aaron Rai won his first major title after claiming the PGA Championship<\/p>\n
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GETTY<\/p>\n
Rai produced remarkably steady golf across all four rounds at the season’s second major, finishing nine-under par to secure a three-shot victory over Alex Smalley and Jon Rahm.<\/p>\n
The win was only his second on the PGA Tour, and it made him the first English golfer to lift the Wanamaker Trophy in over a century.<\/p>\n
Rai’s fellow competitors were quick to heap praise on the new champion, with many pointing to his character as much as his golf.<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm, who shared second place, was particularly effusive about the winner’s qualities off the course.<\/p>\n
“I have heard consistently there’s very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai,” Rahm said. “What he did today is nothing short of special.”<\/p>\n
![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rory-mcilroy-was-among-several-golfers-to-send-their-congratulations-to-aaron-rai.jpg\")
Rory McIlroy was among several golfers to send their congratulations to Aaron Rai<\/p>\n
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REUTERS<\/p>\n
Xander Schauffele echoed those sentiments, highlighting the dedication that goes unseen by most fans.<\/p>\n
“I’m super happy for him, he’s such a good dude,” Schauffele said. “Aaron is always there. He’s always in the gym. He’s always on the range … I think that’s what it’s about to be a major champion. You put the work in when nobody’s looking.”<\/p>\n
Rai himself seemed almost overwhelmed by his achievement.<\/p>\n
“To be here is outside my wildest imagination,” he admitted.<\/p>\n
While McIlroy was delighted for Rai, the result did put paid to his own dreams of achieving something truly historic.<\/p>\n
Having won back-to-back Masters titles, the six-time major champion was the only player who could have completed a calendar grand slam this year.<\/p>\n
“Of course, I was the only person that had a chance to do it…I’ve been the only person that’s had a chance the last two years,” McIlroy reflected.<\/p>\n
![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rory-mcilroy-said-he-was-the-only-one-in-the-last-two-years-able-to-complete-a-calendar-grand-slam.j.jpeg\")
Rory McIlroy said he was “the only one” in the last two years able to complete a calendar grand slam<\/p>\n
| GETTY<\/p>\n
He admitted the thought had briefly crossed his mind heading into Sunday’s final round, but he’s keeping things in perspective.<\/p>\n
“I feel like I set pretty lofty goals but that one is bordering on unrealistic,” he said.<\/p>\n
Not even Jack Nicklaus, with his record 18 major victories, ever managed to win all four in a single calendar year.<\/p>\n
![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rory-mcilroy-graphic.jpg\")
McIlroy now turns his attention to next month’s US Open in New York as he chases a seventh major title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rory McIlroy had nothing but kind words for Aaron Rai following the Englishman’s stunning PGA Championship triumph on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,6082,1079,99],"class_list":["post-653567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653567","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=653567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}