Save Search Close

Aaron Rai Bio - (C) GOLFstats Inc. 2020

Became a teenage sensation as a 15-year-old after beating the 'Lee Westwood World Puttmaster Record' by holing an astonishing 207 consecutive ten-foot putts. Rai turned professional in 2012. In 2014 and 2015, he played on the PGA EuroPro Tour. He won the 2015 Glenfarclas Open after a playoff, finished 5th in the Order of Merit, and was promoted to the Challenge Tour for 2016. Rai was 18th in the 2016 Challenge Tour Order of Merit and just missed out on a European Tour place. His best finish was joint runner-up in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, a shot behind the winner, Alexander Bjork.

2017 was a successful season with Rai, with three wins on the Challenge Tour. In March, he won the Barclays Kenya Open by 3 strokes. His Kenya-born mother embraced him on the final green seconds after his final shot. Rai said it was her first visit to Kenya since she left in 1970. He had his second win in May, the Andalucia Costa del Sol Match Play 9, beating Irishman Gavin Moynihan 2&1 in the 9-hole final. His third success came in July in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, where he won by 5 strokes. The third win gave him an immediate entry to the European Tour. At Walton Heath, he led the international section, qualifying for the U.S. Open in May but failed to make the cut in his first major. He joined the European Tour and, in 2017, was able to play in 13 events making nine cuts with three top-ten finishes. Their best finishes were T-7th at the Joburg Open, T-8th at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters, and T-10th in Made in Denmark.

2018 Notes: Played in 32 European Tour events, making 19 cuts with four top-ten finishes. He was 58th in the Race to Dubai, and he earned euro669,239. Was T-9th at the Hero Indian Open and Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. He was T-5th at the BMW International, two shots back of winner Matt Wallace. 8th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and the next week, ended his season 48th at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

2019 Notes: Played in 27 European Tour events, making 18 cuts with one top-ten finish. He was 46th in the Race to Dubai, and he earned euro912,278. He won the Hong Kong Open at his first start of the year. His next best finish was T-12th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude. He finished the season T-40th at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

2020 Notes: Played in 17 European Tour events, making 13 cuts with four top-ten finishes. He was 8th in the Race to Dubai, and he earned euro1,274,038. He was T-10th at the Hero Open. 2nd at the Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open, two shots back of winner John Catlin. The following week he won the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, beating Tommy Fleetwood with a par on the first playoff hole. He was 3rd at the Scottish Championship, six shots back of winner Adrian Otaegui. He ended his season with a T-51st finish at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

2021 Notes: Played in 18 DP World Tour events, making 12 cuts. Was 63rd in the Race to Dubai. Best finish T-12th at the Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open. I got into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, was T-2nd at the Albertsons Boise Open, T-45th at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, and T-41st at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, and it was enough to get a PGA Tour card for 2022.

2022 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour events, making 19 cuts with two top-ten finishes. He was T-6th at the Farmers Insurance Open, was third, just a shot out of the lead going into the final round, and shot 72 in the final round to finish two shots back of the Luke List/Will Zalatoris playoff. He finished T-4th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner David Lipsky, earning the first top-five on the PGA Tour. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-51st at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He played in five DP World Tour events, best finish T-5th at the Italian Open.

2023 Notes: Played in 32 PGA Tour events, making 22 cuts with three top-ten finishes. He was 68th in the FedExCup standings. Was T-7th at the Cadence Bank Houston Open. He held a share of the lead after a first-round 64 at the Farmers Insurance Open and went on to finish 52nd. He had a one-shot lead after a first-round 63 at the RBC Heritage and finished T-48th. Held a share of the lead after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open and went on to finish T-3rd, earning his second career top-five on the PGA Tour and first in an individual stroke-play event. He was T-9th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. In the FedExCup playoffs, was T-49th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

2024 Notes: He was T-7th at the Texas Children's Houston Open. He finished T-4th at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, three shots back of winner Taylor Pendrith. It was his third career top-five on the PGA Tour and first since the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. Had a share of the leader going into the final round of the Rocket Mortgage, shot 72, and finished T-2nd, a shot back of winner Cam Davis. Played well the next week finishing T-7th at the John Deere Classic. Shot a final round 63 at the Genesis Scottish Open to finish T-4th and get a spot to play in the Open Championship.