Aaron Rai’s father was not in attendance at Aronimink Golf Club to see his son hoist the Wanamaker Trophy following his three-shot victory at the PGA Championship. The Englishman’s old man not being on site to witness Rai become a major champion isn’t necessarily a surprise, but what Mr. Rai was doing during the moment was legitimately mindblowing.
During an appearance on Golf Channel’s “5 Club” program, Rai shared that shortly after earning the life-changing victory, he picked up the phone and called his dad. However, his father didn’t pick up, and not because he was out running in the streets celebrating his son’s win, but because he was asleep.
“He was actually asleep,” Rai said with a laugh. “He’s got a camper van, and he loves being out in that and traveling around the UK in his camper van. And then the time difference, he’d actually fallen asleep for probably the last hour, hour and a half of that round.”
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With the PGA Championship taking place just outside of Philadelphia, the time change was a very real thing with London being five hours ahead. Nevertheless, falling asleep while your son is coming down the stretch to win his first major title is almost impressive.
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Not many family members, let alone fathers, of a golfer would be able to calm the nerves and slow down the heart rate enough to catch some z’s in a moment like that.
Rai set off fireworks over the course of his final few holes at Aronimink while his dad was sleeping, most notably a 70-foot putt for birdie on the Par 3 17th hole.
Rai has been on the record countless times about how much his parents have meant to him throughout his entire golf journey, specifically the sacrifices they made during his junior playing days before he ultimately turned professional in 2012.
While his old man didn’t pick up when he called after securing his PGA Championship victory, Rai explained that he did leave a voicemail for him to wake up to, expressing his thanks for all he has done for him over the years.
