11 Incredible Perks Aaron Rai Gets For Winning The 2026 PGA Championship
Winning the PGA Championship comes with a host of perks, from prize money to exemptions to world ranking points...
There are plenty of great perks to winning the PGA Championship, aside from the prestige of winning a Major championship and writing your name in history.
PGA Champions win one of the greatest trophies in golf that has most of the men's game's legendary names on it as well as some incredible exemptions, a huge pay check, world rankings points and more.
Take a look at the perks that this year's champion, Aaron Rai, gets for winning the PGA Championship:
1. The trophy
The iconic Wanamaker Trophy
The historic and iconic Rodman Wanamaker trophy is easily one of the best trophies in the sport and one of the biggest, too.
Rai gets to keep the Wanamaker Trophy for a year before returning it at the following year's tournament. He'll then get a 90% replica of the trophy once the original trophy is returned next year at PGA Frisco.
"It's nice for the pictures because your biceps are usually flexed. So it makes you look a bit stronger than you actually are," two-time PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy said.
"But it's very cool. It's a very cool trophy. And you know you've beat one of the strongest fields, if not the strongest field, of the year. It's a huge championship in our game with a lot of history.
"Yeah, I mean, it looks heavy. It's big. I didn't know how heavy it was, but it's pretty meaty."
The trophy was donated by Lewis Rodman Wanamaker in New York City all the way back in 1916 and it weighs 34lbs with a height of 19 1/4 inches. It has an interesting history, as Walter Hagen lost the Wanamaker Trophy for a few years in the 1920s.
2. Lifetime exemption
The best perk of winning the championship is that PGA Champions are exempt into the Major for the rest of their career, so Rai can return year after year without worrying about his world ranking or qualifying in other ways.
This is why the likes of Shaun Micheel, YE Yang, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Jason Dufner and Jimmy Walker are still able to tee it up each year. The 2002 champion Rich Beem is planning to play next year in his home state of Texas, too.
The Masters is the only other men's Major that offers a lifetime of return entries.
The US Open gives a 10-year exemption to its champion, while The Open winner qualifies for the event until they're 55.
3. Major exemptions
The PGA Champion gets to play in the next five Masters tournaments as well as the next five US Open and Open Championships
PGA Champions earn invites to the three other Majors for the next five years, meaning Rai has now secured spots in the next five editions of The Masters, the US Open and Open Championship.
One Major victory gets you a guaranteed 20 Major starts for the next five years. Very nice.
4. Senior Major exemptions
PGA Champions get the chance to compete in the Senior PGA Championship and for the prestigious Alfred S. Bourne Trophy once they turn 50
As well as lifetime starts in the PGA Championship, Aaron Rai also secures a lifetime exemption into the Senior PGA Championship as well as entry into the Senior Open until he turns 65.
5. The Champions Dinner
Just like The Masters, the PGA Championship has its own past champions' dinner on the Tuesday of tournament week.
The dinner has been running since 1965 and allows spouses and family, as opposed to Augusta National's 'Masters Club' that is only open to past Masters champions and the club's chairman.
As well as PGA Championship winners, it is also open to the current Senior PGA Champion, with 2026 over-50s champion Stewart Cink at the dinner this year. PGA Professional Championship winner Jesse Droemer was also on the guest-list this year.
6. Money
The 2026 PGA Championship prize money has risen to a record $20.5m, with the champion earning $3.69m - the largest in tournament history.
That's up from the $3.42m Scottie Scheffler won last year from the $19m total prize pool.
It will be by far Rai's largest ever payday.
It's life-changing cash for many but nothing out of the ordinary in today's game. LIV Golf League tournament wins actually earn more, with $4m first prizes, while PGA Tour Signature events offer $3.6m-$4m.
7. Champions' Locker Room
While the regular competitors change their shoes in the players locker room, Rai will be able to make use of the exclusive spot to bask in their win next year alongside his fellow Wanamaker Trophy winners.
8. Tour memberships
The PGA Champion earns a PGA Tour card for the next five seasons
A five-year PGA Tour card is awarded to the PGA Champion, while the winner also earns a DP World Tour card for seven years, too. That's great job security.
9. World ranking points
PGA Championship winners receive 100 Official World Golf Ranking points, which is the joint-highest you can earn in the sport.
All of the four men's Majors offer 100 OWGR points to the winner, with the next-best Players Championship awarding 80.
Rai currently ranks 44th in the world and will get a huge bump up the OWGR list to a new career-high when the rankings are released on Monday.
10. FedEx Cup points
750 FedEx Cup points will go a long way to helping the PGA Champion qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake in August
A healthy total of 750 FedEx Cup points come Rai's way, which is 250 more than the 500 on offer at regular events.
All four men's Majors plus the Players Championship offer 750 points, while the Signature Events give 700 to the winner.
11. Other tournament exemptions
The PGA Championship winner can tee it up at TPC Sawgrass in the next five Players Championships
Winners of the PGA Championship earn a spot in the Players Championship for the next five years as well as most other PGA Tour and DP World Tour events due to the memberships on offer.
