Aaron Rai still waiting for ‘damaged’ Wanamaker Trophy but has humble plan for record $3.69m PGA prize money

Aaron Rai secured glory at the PGA Championship, but he hasn’t been allowed to take the iconic Wanamaker Trophy home just yet.

At Aronimink last Sunday, the Wolverhampton-born golfer became the first Englishman to win the historic major in more than a century.

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Jim Barnes was the last to triumph, 107 years ago in 1919,  when it was still a matchplay event.

After Rai pulled away from a world-class field on Sunday, en-route to shooting a nine-under-par total of 271, he posed with the 28in tall, 27lb Wanamaker Trophy on the green.

Aaron Rai yet to receive PGA Championship prize

The 31-year-old was seen beaming alongside wife Gaurika Bishnoi Rai, relishing his first major win.

But he hasn’t yet been able to put his hefty prize on display at home.

“We actually haven’t received it yet,” Rai said of the Wanamaker, during a call with UK media on Thursday evening.

“I think there was an issue with a bit of damage on the trophy, so they said they will send it in the coming days.

“I’m not sure what exactly happened. But there was just a little bit of damage towards the top of the trophy, which they wanted to fix before it went anywhere.”

When the trophy does finally arrive, Rai will hold the original until next year’s tournament at PGA Frisco.

He will then be handed a replica to keep.

Rai, described by many fellow players as one of the hardest working on the PGA Tour, was not among the pre-tournament favorites to win at Aronimink.

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He went off at 150-to-1, but a breakthrough on the biggest stage has been bubbling for quite some time.

“The one thing that was a really big catalyst, was just feeling healthy body-wise, probably over the last four weeks or so,” he said of his winning performance last weekend.

“That then enabled a bit more normality in terms of practice routines, in terms of getting out on the course, in terms of getting back into the gym a little bit more.

“I think just being able to have some consistency over the last, probably four weeks, was really important in continuing to build.”

Aaron Rai reveals humble plan for PGA Championship prize money

While he will be made to wait a little longer to take possession of the Wanamaker Trophy, Rai’s bank account has been bolstered by record PGA Championship prize money.

Thanks to a $1.5 million injection from the PGA of America, this year’s purse was $20.5m.

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As the winner, Rai walks away with an impressive $3.69 million cut.

Despite a big payday, which takes his total PGA Tour earnings to just over $16m, the 31-year-old is staying humble.

“Honestly, that’s something that I haven’t really thought of just yet,” Rai said, when asked if he plans to treat himself after the win.

“I think, for me personally, I have a really nice house in Jacksonville that I’ve been at for three years now, which I absolutely love.

Aaron Rai praises unsung hero behind major win

Rai paid tribute to wife Gaurika Bishnoi Rai, who helped him visualize his major triumph

“She’s extremely honest with me. Through the positives that she sees, but sometimes through the areas in which maybe I’m lacking. So I think probably the deeper consistent message is just honesty through the good and through the not so good.

“One particular piece of advice, she was really reassuring on Saturday night and even on Sunday morning.

“She said, ‘You’re ready’ on a few occasions. And that felt really powerful when she said it, because she said it on the Saturday night and she said it before starting on Sunday as well.”

“I imported my car from the UK three years ago and I wouldn’t change that for anything. So nothing really comes to my mind for myself.”

The major champion, though, does want to get his close family — which he describes as a ‘huge support system’ — a memento to remember the win.

“I would like to get a couple of my family members something, but I wanted to also be thoughtful, rather than just something that is worth ‘X’ amount,” he added.

“So I’m definitely going to sit with that and think about that a little bit more before choosing what that might be.”

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