The clubs Aaron Rai used to win the 2024 Wyndham Championship

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[PHOTO: David Jensen]

On a day when daylight was as much a competitor as any player on the course, the only question through 13 holes and a 83-metre hole out for eagle was whether Max Greyserman would have to come back on Monday morning, local time, to lift the Wyndham Championship trophy.

And then the 14th hole happened. And then the 16th hole happened. Greyserman lost five strokes over the three-hole stretch, featuring an out-of-bounds drive and a three-putt from inside four feet. All the while, his closest competitor, Aaron Rai, was just making pars in the group ahead of him. Not even the most optimistic Aaron Rai fan would have thought that five pars and a birdie in his final six holes would be enough to win. As it turns out, his birdie at the last was enough to win by two.

Rai’s approach from 182 metres on the 18th hole with a TaylorMade P7TW – co-designed by Tiger Woods – finished six-and-a-half feet from the hole. He went on to drain that putt as the cherry on top of a whirlwind a weekend.

Hurricane Debby postponed the start of Thursday’s round to Friday while Sunday featured action from the second, third and final rounds. Rai played 36 holes today in eight-under par, which moved him from two strokes behind in a tie for fifth to the winner’s circle. It’s Rai’s first win on the PGA Tour and first worldwide since October 2020.

The 15th hole was pivotal for Rai this week. The Englishman eagled the hole each of the first two rounds, both days launching his TaylorMade Qi10 18-degree 5-wood onto the green. It’s the 12th time this PGA Tour season the winning player had a Qi10 fairway wood in the bag.

Late collapse by Max Greyserman hands Aaron Rai his first PGA Tour title at Wyndham Championship

“I think getting it in the fairway off the tee is key. It’s very hard to go for the green in two if you’re off the fairway,” Rai said on Saturday, “Hit two really good drives and had two really good numbers for 5-wood both days. Pin was back-right yesterday, pin was front-right today, so just suits nice little fades. Hit two great shots and made two really nice putts.”

With the win, Rai enters the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 25th spot.

The clubs Aaron Rai used to win the 2024 Wyndham Championship:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Driver: TaylorMade M6, 8 degrees

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10, 15 degrees

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10, 18 degrees

Irons (5-9): TaylorMade P7TW

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46, 48, 54, 60 degrees)

Putter: TaylorMade TP DuPage