‘He’ll probably have Chipotle’: Aaron Rai keeps celebrations low-key after PGA Championship win | US PGA

Aaron Rai’s life changed on the 18th green at Aronimink, but not his lifestyle. Rai, 31, from Wolverhampton, became the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since 1919, earning $3,690,000 and a lifetime exemption into the tournament. He immediately declared that he was going to celebrate by going to Chipotle. He didn’t seem quite able to comprehend what he had accomplished, and had no idea what was coming next, whether it would be a victory in another major tournament or a run at the Ryder Cup, only that it would all start with a visit to his favorite burrito restaurant.

“I haven’t thought that far yet,” Rai said when asked how he would celebrate. “He’ll probably have Chipotle,” his wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, interrupted. Presumably he’s buying.

Rai only discovered the hundred-year spell on Saturday evening. “There have been a lot of incredible, historic English players over those hundred years,” Rai said, “players who have achieved incredible things and had phenomenal careers, so to win this event and then be the first person to win it in a long time from England is an incredible thing and something to be extremely proud of.”

Rai dedicated the victory to Bishnoi, who he said had given him crucial advice on Saturday night, after losing his share of the lead by making a bogey on the 18th.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say I wouldn’t be here without her,” Rai said. “She’s a professional golfer herself. Her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it’s technique or how I hold myself, are absolutely invaluable. We even had a conversation yesterday for probably 30 minutes in the car right before we got back to the hotel, and some of the things she mentioned in the conversations really stood out to me today.”

Rai said the secret to navigating one of the most crowded leaderboards in major golf history was simply ignoring it. “Honestly, I didn’t look at the rankings too much,” he said.

“I knew there were a lot of people that were relatively close, but I think no matter how close it was, you still had to have a really good, solid round of golf. The course really demanded it this week, it was so punishing. You couldn’t lose a split second of concentration at any point, whether it was a tee shot, whether it was an approach shot, whether it was a putt. “And he didn’t.

As a child, Rai watched and rewatched VHS tapes of Tiger Woods’ early hits. “We used to watch them a lot, probably two, three times a week, maybe more,” he said, “the videos of his victories in the United States as an amateur and then his early professional career. He’s such an icon and such an important figure in the game…and he’s someone that I really idolized. I just remember being in awe just watching all the things he could do.”

And that’s when what Rai had just done finally seemed to dawn on him. “Having my name even with him on that trophy is…” he paused and grinned from ear to ear, “…amazing.”