Aaron Rai, the 31-year-old Englishman who won the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in May, is the first winner of the DP World Tour’s Rory McIlroy Award for cumulative performance in the year’s four major championships, the tour announced last Thursday.
Aaron Rai
Michael Reaves, Getty Images
The award is presented to the DP World Tour member who earns the most Race to Dubai points from the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship. Combining his PGA victory with his finishes at the Masters (48th), U.S. Open (T11) and Open Championship (T79), Rai accumulated 1,876.5 Race to Dubai points, edging Ryan Fox, who won the Open at Royal Birkdale and accumulated 1,834 points.
“I’m truly honored to be the first recipient of the Rory McIlroy Award during what has been an incredible season for me and my team,” Rai said. “Rory is an inspiration to so many people, including myself. His golf game speaks volumes but the person he is and the way he conducts himself is equally as inspiring.”
Rai will receive the award from McIlroy at the BMW PGA Championship in September. READ MORE
General admission tickets for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Ireland’s Adare Manor are sold out following the conclusion of the ballot process, it was announced last Friday.
Fans who were successful in the ballot process were informed last week, with those people joining fans who had previously secured their tickets in the exclusive island of Ireland priority window in May, which sold out in less than an hour.
Following the allocation of tickets, fans from 80 different countries will be part of the 100-year anniversary edition of the Ryder Cup. The island of Ireland will have the largest representation, comprising 34 percent of the overall spectator numbers as Ireland hosts the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2006. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Championship winner, was on hand for last week’s opening of the Home of Golf Hub, a multi-functional community venue the St. Andrews Links Trust has opened in the center of town. READ MORE
The USGA will award a new round of IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) grants to 26 First Tee chapters across the United States, it announced. The USGA has provided 155 grants totaling more than $1 million since 2021. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
