Aaron Rai still riding on crest of wave after 'huge' Scottish Open win

Englishman doubts he’d be playing on PGA Tour if it hadn’t been for his East Lothian title triumph

Aaron Rai has carved out a career for himself on the PGA Tour after winning the 2020 Genesis Scottish Open. Piture: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images.

It felt big at the time for Aaron Rai and still does. Winning the 2020 Genesis Scottish Open opened doors for the Wolverhampton man, including his appearance in this week’s 50th anniversary edition of The Players Championship.

“Yeah, it was huge,” said Rai, recalling his title triumph at The Renaissance Club, where he beat fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off in an event played behind closed doors due to Covid restrictions in place at the time.

“It felt massive at the time and that got me into a couple of majors and WGCs the following year and I played nicely in those to get in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and then played well in the Korn Ferry Finals to be out here. Without that Scottish Open victory, there’s a very good chance that I wouldn’t have got on to the PGA Tour the following year. Yeah, looking back on it, it’s just as big now as it was back then.”

Aaron Rai beat Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off to get his hands on the Scottish Open trophy at The Renaissance Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Rai was speaking after he’d signed for a four-under-par 68, which included a hole-out eagle at the par-4 14th, in the third round of the PGA Tour’s flagship event in Ponte Vedra Beach just outside Jacksonville. He climbed onto the leaderboard before signing off with a double-bogey 6.

“Yeah, a good day overall,” he admitted. “It doesn’t feel that way at the moment (laughing). But Anytime you are under par on his course it’s never a bad day. If you’d given me four under par at the start of the round, I’d probably have taken it.”

On his eagle, he added: “It was a really good number for a 7-iron on a controlled flight. It started off a little right and fell off the wind, looked great in the air but was obviously surprised to see it go in. A great shot but a bit of a bonus.“

Helped by recording top-25 finishes in his last two outings, Rai sits 79th in the world rankings and needs to be in the top 50 the day after the Valero Texas Open finishes to secure a spot in next month’s Masters.

“To be honest, I try not to be aware of what it is I need to do,” he said of that target. “I know I am there or thereabouts. But, sometimes when I focus on things like that, it’s not always the best for my performance. So I just try and treat the tournament for what it is. I play best when I focus on what’s ahead of me and that will be the plan for tomorrow and the next couple of weeks as well.”

Ten players, including Bob MacIntyre, are playing on the PGA Tour this season through cards that were up for grabs on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai last year. By the looks of things, Rai has managed to adjust to his new working environment okay but he admitted that it’s not easy for players who make that transition.

“It’s difficult,” he said. “I’m not sure there are many players find it really straightforward. You’re on the other side of the world and don’t go back to the UK that much any more. Also, the style of golf is different, the grass is different, the speed on the greens is different. I think the level is a little bit deeper.

“I think it pushes each player who makes that transition to the limit in order to compete. But I think ultimately over a period of time it makes us all better players for it. Yeah, that transition is still continuing for me, for sure.”