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Aaron Rai turned pro in 2012 and eventually accumulated five international wins, but he had been searching for his first PGA Tour victory for the last six years. That search ended on August 11 after a grueling weekend of golf at the 2024 Wyndham Championship.
In his PGA Tour career, Rai had had 10 top-10 finishes, five top-five placements, a third-place and a runner-up finish but never a win until last night. He needed to erase a four-stroke lead in three holes and did just that. He said via CBS Sports:
"Incredible. A dream come true. Truly a dream come true. Even getting to the PGA Tour, but then understanding how difficult it is out here and how strong the standard of golf is, extremely grateful. I think it hasn't quite sunk in just yet, but, yeah, an amazing achievement."
Rai trailed Max Gresyerman for much of the afternoon, but a few mistakes on his end opened the door for a charging Rai to take a two-stroke lead, one that stood up.
Rai didn't need to win to get enough FedEx Cup points to make it into the playoffs, but he solidified his position there with a win. His victory has pushed him to 53rd in the FedEx Cup and 48th as per OWGR.
Aaron Rai discusses Max Greyserman's meltdown
Golf is a difficult sport, something Max Greyserman learned on August 11. He had a four-stroke lead after the 15th hole, a seemingly insurmountable margin that all but assured a victory.
However, as Greyserman began making mistakes, Aaron Rai began closing the gap and ultimately overtook him. Rai admitted after the race that he wasn't looking at that at all.
Via ESPN, the winner said:
"I didn't really look and didn't ask to know that information. I think that was probably a good thing that helped me just to focus on the golf. I was playing well and I knew that if I finished off well, then you never know what can happen."
Greyserman, who settled for a solo second-place finish, said of his late collapse:
"Played good enough to kind of run away with it. Obviously, stuff happens in golf that sometimes it's not meant to be."
Ultimately, everyone who was already in the FedEx Cup Playoffs before the tournament made it in. The points proved to be rather inconsequential.
Notably, Matt Kuchar needed a win to keep his streak of making it to postseason play alive and led after two rounds. However, he struggled in the third and fourth, dropping into a tie for 12th. He elected not to finish the 18th hole because of darkness and will finish today instead, but he cannot win and make it into the playoffs.
