Ryder Cup: Luke Donald To Meet PGA Champion Aaron Rai

Aaron Rai shaking hands with Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald after playing alongside him at the Scottish Open — (Image credit: Getty Images)

England's newest Major winner Aaron Rai is due to speak with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shortly after enhancing his claims at Aronimink.

Rai has been basking in his PGA Championship glory and speaking about his next steps - which included continuing to do things his own way without an agent.

The 31-year-old has plenty of trappings to go along with the Wanamaker Trophy, including a healthy payday of $3.7m and five years of Major exemptions.

He's also up to 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking and fifth on the DP World Tour's Race To Dubai - but perhaps most importantly he's catapulted his name into the Ryder Cup race.

Qualification for 2027 at Adare Manor doesn't start until later this year, but the manner of Rai's Major success gives him a ton of credit in the bank.

And he's due to speak with Donald soon, telling a media conference call: "I will catch up with him in the coming days."

Rai was in and around the mix for the European side at Bethpage Black, and that experience coupled with now being a Major champion could give him the edge this time around.

Aaron Rai celebrates with his wife Gaurika Bishnoi after winning the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink

"I think it's such a long way away," Rai said. "Ryder Cup qualification hasn't even started yet, so I'm well aware of just how much good golf you have to play to even be in that framework come next year, so it's not something that I've really thought too much about.

"I've really enjoyed over the previous few years getting around it and experiencing kind of the lead up to it and what it's like.

"Hopefully I can learn a few things from those experiences moving into next year, but there's a lot of golf to be played and a lot of great performances that you have to have in order to be even considered for that team."

Rai still waiting for Wanamaker Trophy

Winning a Major is an achievement in itself, but the manner of Rai's victory at Aronimink was particularly impressive.

Going six under for his final 10 holes, holding his nerve with the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy giving chase shows exactly the character Donald will want in his side for Ireland.

"I think over those last few holes, I definitely felt that, providing I can keep doing what I'm doing, we stand a very good chance," Rai said of closing out the win.

"But I also tried not to let myself get too far ahead and think that there's a chance, because I knew how hard those last few holes are."

Rai is also as grounded as any golfer, as shown by his modest plans for spending his new $3.7m windfall, which don't include anything lavish.

Aaron Rai with the PGA Championship trophy

"I have a really nice house in Jacksonville that I've been in for three years now, which I absolutely love," Rai added.

"I imported my car from the UK three years ago, which I absolutely love, and I wouldn't change that for anything. So, nothing really comes to my mind for myself."

One thing has wants to get his hands on is the Wanamaker Trophy, as he's still not got it back from the PGA of America.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened," Rai said about the trophy. "But there was just a little bit of damage towards the top of the trophy, which they wanted to fix before it went anywhere."

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.