The Royal Family has sent a message to Aaron Rai, after he became the first English golfer in over a century to win the PGA Championship on Sunday evening.
The 31-year-old Briton made history last night, after he delivered a stunning final-round 65 to finish nine under par and secure a comprehensive three-stroke victory to clinch his first-ever major.
Rai trailed by three shots with just ten holes of the final round left, but putted an extraordinary 40-foot eagle, followed by a sensational 70-foot putt on the 17th, to establish his insurmountable three-shot cushion.
The Royal Family, who have links with the sport dating back centuries, took to social media to send their congratulations to the victor.
“Congratulations to Aaron Rai on your extraordinary PGA Championship win!” the post read.
King Charles is known to have a personal fondness for golf and, in 2024, accepted the patronage of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
His late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was a patron for 70 years.
The patronage has been accepted by reigning monarchs since King William IV in 1834.
The Royal Family has sent a message to Aaron Rai, after he became the first English golfer in over a century to win the PGA Championship on Sunday evening
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INSTAGRAM: THE ROYAL FAMILY
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews was established in 1754 and has a worldwide membership of more than 2,400.
During the State Dinner on the monarch’s State Visit to the US last month, Donald Trump singled out Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy for a special congratulations, after his second consecutive Masters victory in Atlanta, cementing his place as one of the sport’s true greats.
McIlroy, in fact, was the last European to triumph in the PGA Championship, back in 2014.
Aaron Rai poses with his trophy following his PGA Championship win | GETTY
Rai’s victory on Sunday brought to an end a remarkable streak of ten consecutive American winners at the championship.
At the trophy presentation, Rai reflected on his achievement: “This win is very surreal. It’s been a bit of a frustrating season so to be stood here is definitely outside of my wildest imagination.”
“I think I have had really good consistency over the last few weeks in terms of practice. My body has been feeling great.
“I really enjoyed the course this week and held the rounds together as the week went on. It is phenomenal to be stood here.”
Speaking about his remarkable 70-foot stroke, he admitted: “I definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt.
“The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for probably the last 10 feet and that helped with the visual of the putt.”
“It was so long, I was just trying to put a good speed on it and it just tracked extremely well in the last half. Amazing seeing that one go in.”