Aaron Rai’s first love was Formula One; he dreamed of being a driver. His father, a tennis player who couldn’t fulfil his dream of turning professional, introduced young Aaron to a racquet.But the youngster’s tennis stroke looked more like a golf swing, so dad bought him plastic clubs. Formula One and tennis’ loss was golf’s gain, for the boy immediately took to the sport.Last man standingAnd last weekend, Rai scripted one of the great underdog stories at Aronimink Golf Club — down the road from Philadelphia, which produced one of Hollywood’s ultimate underdog stories: Rocky. The 31-year-old entered the PGA Championship a little-known long shot, but emerged from a packed leaderboard as the last man standing.Having never finished better than 19th in 12 prior Major starts, Rai, with one PGA Tour title and three on the European tour, closed out the PGA Championship with nerves of steel.He was among 22 players separated by four shots going into the final round, a logjam the likes of which the PGA Championship had never seen. He was just another name on the leaderboard midway through the final round, three shots behind and coming off two bogeys in three holes.
Rai’s precision, positioning and disciplined iron play work well on challenging courses. His ability to stay cool under pressure helps in big moments.
