If you had Aaron Rai (Titleist Pro V1) winning the PGA Championship, you are a genius.
His odds ranged from 150-1 to 290-1.
He showed absolutely nothing in his recent form or overall this year to indicate he was ready to do something big.
Yes, he placed fifth prior to the PGA Championship in the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, but that was a tournament for players who weren’t eligible for the Truist Championship.
So how could you realistically bet on Rai to win the PGA Championship?
He’s had difficulty winning PGA Tour events, let alone majors.
He destroyed my theory that only players who were part of Team USA or Team Europe in last year’s Ryder Cup would win. Who knows, he could be a future Ryder Cup player or maybe in this year’s Presidents Cup.
About the only thing that had distinguished Rai prior to the PGA Championship was his habit of wearing two gloves for all his shots, except on the green. He had indicated it was a longtime habit of his to get a feel for his clubs. Will it now become something other players – pro, amateur or recreational – do? I don’t think it will be commonplace, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some do it, especially if they have sweaty hands.
He also uses iron head covers? Again, that’s unusual, but no big deal.
We found out he learned the game watching Tiger Woods (Bridgestone TOUR B XS) videos. This is the second PGA Tour player who did that. Sudarshan Yellamaraju (Titleist Pro V1) followed a similar path. He has a good chance to be the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
I’m sure a lot of players watched Woods videos growing up. I guess at some point there would be one or more of them that would become PGA Tours. I’m sure there are hundreds of thousands who never even become pros.
Think about how many aspiring football players watched Tom Brady videos hoping to mimic or master his skills.
Or basketball players who watched videos of Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
Or soccer players who watched videos of Lionel Messi?
You get the point.
The odds are someone will become quite good playing a sport watching the very best do it.
We live in a video/digital age, so it’s easier in this generation than it was trying to mimic Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer.
Will this be a one-off for Rai? Who knows. He certainly will have a lot more confidence going forward. His 68-foot birdie on the 17th hole was a highlight reel moment.
In his home country of England, he will be viewed as a star with a story that could easily be made into a movie.
TOMMY CAN YOU HEAR ME: Speaking of Englishmen, I wrote glowingly last week about Tommy Fleetwood (TaylorMade TP5) to win. I wasn’t the only one. Many betting sites had him as a serious contender. He had tied the course record twice many years before, but he didn’t even make the cut. I don’t know if there is any other player on the PGA Tour who is more frustrating as a betting proposition than Fleetwood. Apart from the Tour Championship last year, he has failed to win on the PGA Tour but always gets a lot of respect from bettors. I thought for sure after he won the Tour Championship last year, he would break through, kind of like Cameron Young (Titleist Pro V1x) or Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist Pro V1x).
THE LIV GOLF GUYS: Bryson DeChambeau (Titleist Pro V1x) also didn’t make the cut, the second time he’s done that this year in the majors. I’m sure he will be bet heavily in the U.S. Open, in which he’s won twice.
Jon Rahm (Callaway Chrome Tour X), who barely made the cut in the Masters, accounted himself well finishing in a four-way tie for second. I picked him in the Masters and then ignored him for the PGA Championship.
Cam Smith (Titleist Pro V1x) tied for seventh and former LIV Golfer Patrick Reed (Titleist Pro V1x) tied for 10th. Joaquin Niemann (Titleist Pro V1x) tied for 18th.
JJ DISAPPOINTS ME: I was somewhat disappointed with JJ Spaun, who was one of my two picks in the PG Golf pool. He also failed to make the cut. He came into it with good form. He had a T5 in the Truist Championship with an impressive weekend performance, preceded by a T14 in the Cadillac Championship. Five starts previous he won the Valero Texas Open. It wasn’t to be for him – or myself. I’m falling so fast in the pool I feel like I’m drowning.
