Aaron Rai reveals hilarious reason father missed his maiden major triumph

Aaron Rai’s PGA Championship victory produced one of the stories of the golf season so far — but the funniest moment came after he had already lifted the Wanamaker Trophy.

The 31-year-old Englishman revealed this week that his father, Amrik, completely missed the closing stages of his son’s first major triumph at the PGA Championship because he had fallen asleep while camping in the UK.

Rai shared the brilliant story during an appearance on the 5 Clubs show, where he explained that his dad had taken his camper van out travelling during the championship at Aronimink.

Considering Rai arrived at the tournament as a 150/1 outsider, few could have imagined he would end the week as a major champion. His victory made him the longest-priced major winner since Trevor Immelman’s Masters success in 2008.

Rai produced the round of his life at Aronimink two weeks ago Sunday, carding a brilliant final-round 65 to finish on nine-under par and claim a three-shot victory over Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.

But while Rai was producing the performance of his career in Pennsylvania, his father was fast asleep back home.

“He was actually asleep,” Rai said when asked where his father was during the dramatic final round.

“He's got a camper van and he loves being out in that and travelling around the UK in his camper van, and with the time difference he'd actually fallen asleep for probably the last hour or hour and half of that round.

“So when I got back into the clubhouse after finishing I tried calling him, and it didn't go through, so I figured he was asleep, and I just left him a voicemail really to just say thank you more than anything else, and luckily we managed to catch up later that evening for an hour or so after that moment.”

The timing could hardly have been worse for Amrik, who missed Rai’s unforgettable finish — including the sensational 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that helped secure the title.

The story comes just a week after Rai confirmed he was still waiting to receive the Wanamaker Trophy after damage was discovered on the famous prize following his historic victory.

Rai has regularly spoken about the sacrifices his parents made throughout his childhood to support his golfing ambitions. 

His father, in particular, played a huge role in helping him get started in the game despite limited finances.

Rai still uses iron covers today as a reminder of those humble beginnings after his father worked hard to buy him his first proper set of clubs.

And while Amrik may have slept through the biggest moment of his son’s career, there is little doubt he earned the right to.