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Why PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai uses two gloves, iron covers

Nypost · · 334 words · By Justin Tasch
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What to know about Why PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai uses two gloves, iron covers

Aaron Rai won’t just be known for his on-course quirks anymore.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Aaron Rai won’t just be known for his on-course quirks anymore.

Why it matters

The 31-year-old Englishman will now be known as a PGA Championship winner after capturing his first major title Sunday at Aronimink, finishing at 9-under while besting Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three strokes to earn the $3.69 million first-place prize.

Common ground

But for any fans who were wondering why Rai wears two gloves while golfing and why he has covers for all of his irons — both unusual — he explained it all to ESPN.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/sports/why-pga-championship-winner-aaron-rai-uses-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified By Reference 1
info Single Source 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “shot a 5-under 65 to win”
CORROBORATED
ESPN and other web search results explicitly state that Aaron Rai shot a 5-under 65 in the final round to win.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (-9) has won the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club after shooting 65 in the final round. Rai entered Sunday at 4 under and overcame three bogeys on the front nine, recording four …
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/pga-championship…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai on why he wears two gloves. So concluded a most remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, where no one could separate themselves on Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead…
https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/daily-wrapup/2026/05/17…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai shot a 5-under 65 to pull away from some of the game's biggest stars, becoming the first English-born golfer to win the PGA Championship since 1919.
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/48800504/englishman-aar…
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Claim 2: “Rai, who previously had one PGA Tour win”
CORROBORATED
CNN, Krdo, and Wikipedia all confirm that Rai's only PGA Tour win prior to this event was the 2024 Wyndham Championship.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Championship was the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, the second of the four men's major golf championships held in 2026. The tournament took place on May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Championship
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Tour is the 111th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It is also the 58th season since separating from the PGA of America, and the 20th edition o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Tour
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (born 3 March 1995) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won three times on the European Tour during 2018-2025. On the PGA Tour, his first w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rai
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “he has covers for all of his irons”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including SiriusXM (via web search) and reports mentioning Jon Rahm's comments, confirm Rai uses covers for his irons.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai is now a major winner, but he hasn’t forgotten where he started his golf journey.Rai has a good reason for this process though. As he explained in an interview with SiriusXM in 2021, Rai sta…
https://www.si.com/golf/pga-championship/why-pga-championshi…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — As you watch Aaron Rai in the PGA Championship, you might notice he uses iron covers for his clubs and wears two gloves - two habits often viewed as golf faux pas. But both are actually inspiring.
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/48803622/why-aaron-rai-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “Anybody that uses head covers in his irons because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment so much, and still does it?” says Rahm, “that shows a lot abo…
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/may/18/the-nice-guy-w…
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Claim 4: “Rai wears two gloves while golfing”
CORROBORATED
AOL, PGA TOUR, and Google News all report that Aaron Rai wears two gloves while playing golf.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai always wears two gloves while playing - as well as using iron covers (Image: Getty Images). Legendary golf commentator Jim Nantz delivered a clever wordplay moments after Aaron Rai captured …
https://www.aol.com/articles/aaron-rais-two-glove-habit-0829…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The two gloves are only part of Rai’s distinctive approach. The 31-year-old is also known for using iron covers, a practice often heavily debated in golf circles, at times perhaps even ridiculed. For …
https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2026/05/17/why-d…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai explains why he wears two gloves ... And they aren't even made specifically for golf! pic.x.com/n9qBLm0hri. Posted on X02:45. PGA TOUR.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
verified
Claim 5: “to earn the $3.69 million first-place prize”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about banks and churches; no source confirms the specific prize amount of $3.69 million.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 PGA Championship was the 107th edition of the PGA Championship and the second of the men's four major golf championships held in 2025. The tournament was held on May 15–18 at the Quail Hollow…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Championship was the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, the second of the four men's major golf championships held in 2026. The tournament took place on May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Championship
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (born 3 March 1995) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won three times on the European Tour during 2018-2025. On the PGA Tour, his first w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rai
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “entered Sunday two shots behind the 54-hole leader Smalley”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the win is confirmed, the specific detail about entering Sunday two shots behind Alex Smalley is not explicitly corroborated by the provided evidence snippets; most sources focus on the final result or general standings.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 PGA Championship was the 107th edition of the PGA Championship and the second of the men's four major golf championships held in 2025. The tournament was held on May 15–18 at the Quail Hollow…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Championship was the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, the second of the four men's major golf championships held in 2026. The tournament took place on May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (born 3 March 1995) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won three times on the European Tour during 2018-2025. On the PGA Tour, his first w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rai
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “The 31-year-old Englishman will now be known as a PGA Championship winner after capturing his first major title Sunday at Aronimink”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources including BBC Sport, Flipboard, and Wikipedia confirm Aaron Rai won the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Championship was the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, the second of the four men's major golf championships held in 2026. The tournament took place on May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (born 3 March 1995) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won three times on the European Tour during 2018-2025. On the PGA Tour, his first w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rai
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club in the eastern United States, located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Its championship layout is consistently rated among …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aronimink_Golf_Club
+ 4 more evidence sources
help
Claim 8: “He punctuated the victory with a stunning 68-foot curling birdie putt on No. 17”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
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Claim 9: “finishing at 9-under while besting Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three strokes”
CORROBORATED
CNN, PGA Tour, and other web results confirm Rai finished at 9-under par, winning by three strokes over Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 PGA Championship was the 107th edition of the PGA Championship and the second of the men's four major golf championships held in 2025. The tournament was held on May 15–18 at the Quail Hollow…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 PGA Championship was the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, the second of the four men's major golf championships held in 2026. The tournament took place on May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_PGA_Championship
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aaron Rai (born 3 March 1995) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won three times on the European Tour during 2018-2025. On the PGA Tour, his first w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rai
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.