Compiled by Multiple-Award-Winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer
Aaron Rai’s 68-Footer Was the Moment, but His Putting Week Was the Message.
There are pressure putts, and then there are putts that become part of a player’s career story forever.
Aaron Rai’s winding 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday at Aronimink will be the clip most people remember from the 108th PGA Championship. It gave him a three-shot cushion, sent the crowd into full roar and all but sealed his first major championship.
But here is the more important putting story from the week: that putt was not some random bolt of lightning. It was the perfect ending to a week built on speed control, patience and disciplined putting under pressure.
Rai won the PGA Championship at 9-under, three shots clear of Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley. He ranked fifth in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining 6.952 strokes on the greens for the week, while also ranking second in Strokes Gained: Approach and eighth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. That combination tells the real story. He did not putt his way around poor ball-striking. He hit enough quality shots to create chances, then putted well enough to make Aronimink pay.
The Putt Everyone Will Remember
The 17th at Aronimink was never supposed to become a victory lap. Rai had a lead. He had a tucked hole location. He had every reason to play safely to the center-right portion of the green and accept two putts.
That is exactly what he did.
Then the putt dropped.
Rai later said he was not trying to hole it, only to put good speed on it. That matters because the best long putts are rarely built on trying to make everything. They are built on controlling pace so well that the hole has a chance to get in the way.
That is the PrimePutt lesson of the week.
Great putting is not reckless. Great putting is disciplined enough to give luck a chance.
The Quiet Putts Were Just as Big
The 68-footer will live forever, but Rai’s smaller putts were just as important.
He made a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 11 to join the leaders. He made a 7-footer at No. 13 to take control. He birdied the par-5 16th before the fireworks at 17. Those are the putts that often decide majors before the highlight-reel putt ever happens.
Major championship putting is not only about the bomb. It is about the putts from 3 to 8 feet when your hands feel a little different, your routine gets tested and your mind starts doing math before the ball is even struck.
Rai handled those moments with the same calm that has become part of his identity.
Matti Schmid and Alex Smalley Show What a Hot Putter Can Do
Rai was the winner, but he was not the only player whose week was transformed on the greens.
Matti Schmid led the entire field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining 7.787 strokes, and finished tied for fourth in his PGA Championship debut. Alex Smalley finished tied for second and ranked third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining 7.342 strokes.
That is the beautiful and brutal thing about putting. One great week can change the look of a leaderboard, a season and maybe even a career. Schmid and Smalley both showed that when the putter travels, belief travels with it.
The Other Side of the Putting Story
Aronimink also gave us the opposite lesson.
Ludvig Åberg led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, gaining 11.308 strokes, but ranked 64th in Strokes Gained: Putting and finished tied for fourth. Scottie Scheffler finished tied for 14th despite ranking seventh in both Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Strokes Gained: Approach, but he ranked 72nd in Strokes Gained: Putting.
That is not a criticism of either player. It is just the weekly reminder this series keeps coming back to.
Ball-striking gives you chances. Putting decides what those chances are worth.
Kurt Kitayama’s Sunday Was a Putting Showcase
Kurt Kitayama’s final-round 63 was another putting headline hiding inside the larger championship story.
He hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation and made 141 feet, 5 inches of putts, including five putts of 12 feet or longer. That is how a player moves 50-plus spots up a major championship leaderboard on Sunday. Not with one putt. With a full round of pace, read and commitment.
PrimePutt Practice Challenge: The Aronimink Speed Test
Here is this week’s practice challenge inspired by Rai and Aronimink:
Year-To-Date Putting Watch
On the PGA TOUR, Jacob Bridgeman remains the season-long Strokes Gained: Putting leader at +0.939, followed by Vince Whaley at +0.915 and Jake Knapp at +0.744.
On the LPGA Tour, the current putting average leaders are Hyo Joo Kim at 27.96 putts per round, Mi Hyang Lee at 28.00, Gemma Dryburgh at 28.11, Minami Katsu at 28.19 and Ariya Jutanugarn at 28.31.
Final Roll
The PGA Championship at Aronimink will be remembered for Aaron Rai’s breakthrough and that unforgettable putt on 17. But from a putting standpoint, the week was bigger than one roll.
It showed that pressure putting is not just about nerves. It is about preparation. It is about speed control. It is about accepting smart targets and trusting that good putts sometimes become great ones.
Rai’s 68-footer was the moment.
His entire week on the greens was the message.
Pressure Putts drops every Monday with the week’s best putting stories, stats, and drills from the PGA TOUR, LPGA, and DP World Tour. Got a putting question or drill request? Drop us a line.
