Aaron Rai felt 'really nervous' playing with fellow 2026 major winners

Earlier in the week at Wentworth in the build up to the BMW PGA Championship, Rai had been presented with the Rory McIlroy Award by the man bearing its name after becoming the first winner on the strength of being the DP World Tour member who earned most Race to Dubai points from the four majors this year.

Rai took that in his stride, admitting it was “really special”, but finding himself in one of the marquee groups alongside back-to-back Masters champion McIlroy in particular but Ryan Fox, another first-time major winner this year in The Open at Royal Birkdale, as well left the Englishman feeling extremely jittery indeed.

“I felt really nervous,” admitted Rai after signing for a six-under-par 66 to get off to an extremely promising start indeed to the third Rolex Series event of the season on the DP World Tour. “I can't remember feeling that nervous on a Thursday and Friday, if I'm honest, to start off with. And part of that was playing with Rory, playing with Foxy and also playing at this event. It's obviously our flagship event on the tour. So yeah, really pleasing.”

It almost sounded as though the Wolverhampton man had felt a bit star struck. “Yeah, me and Ryan were actually speaking about it as we were going round,” added Rai, “because we would have played on the Challenge Tour together ten years ago in 2016, so we've known each other a while.

“We've had pairings like this on a Saturday or on a Sunday. It almost feels like you've earned it through playing well on Thursday, Friday. It's certainly new for me. And I think Ryan was saying a similar kind of position for him being in these kinds of pairings on a Thursday, Friday. So in that respect it does feel a little different. It's obviously an amazing experience to be playing with the likes of Rory.”

‘Pleased to get into the round pretty fast’

In recognition of his new status as a major champion, a giant image of Rai’s face - there’s one of Fox, too - is plastered on the back of the grandstand at the 18th green on the iconic West Course. “I definitely thought about it before we started today, a bit this morning and a bit the last couple of days when I found out what the draw was,” admitted Rai. “Obviously, it's really amazing to be out there with Ryan and Rory. So, yeah, just really pleased that I got into the round pretty fast and that I continued to play well.”

After getting underway at the ninth - a two-tee start is in operation this week to allow a few more players to be in the field - Rai birdied the tenth, 11th, 13th and 14th before dropping his only shot of the day at par-4 16th. He repaired that damage straight away then added gains at the second and seventh before making a great par 3 at the eighth - his closing hole - after seeing his drive end up in the water in front of the green.

“I think we just underestimated how strong the wind was and also how firm the fairway was over that kind of crosswalk area,” he said of that unwanted surprise. “We had a really good drive and kind of turned away to pick up the tee. Then we knew it was good. Then it took a really big bounce, so I think we just misjudged the conditions, misjudged the speed of the fairway.”

After taking a penalty drop, he knocked his third from 71 yards to around four feet and rolled in the putt. “It was a really good save,” he admitted. “Really, extremely pleasing way to finish the round. That would have felt quite difficult to finish that way after what felt like a really good shot and to make bogey would have been a difficult feeling to kind of take away.”

Though there is still a long way to go, Rai is chasing a third Rolex Series title after landing the Genesis Scottish Open in 2020 then the Abu Dhabi Championship last year. “It was a really good start,” he admitted. “We were quite lucky with the conditions. It was raining pretty heavily throughout all of our warm-up and then it stopped by the time we started, so it was nice to get off to a good solid start and then continue to play well throughout the round.

“It's a place that I've enjoyed even before I even competed in the tour event here. I used to come here as a junior and watch the event and absolutely love it. I've started to play really well here over the last three or four years or so. So yeah, it's a place that I enjoy and it's always good coming here.”

McIlroy, who shot a 60 in Wednesday’s Pro-Am but had to settle for a 69, one more than Fox, for his opening salvo, recalled being in Rai’s shoes earlier in his career. “I have a really vivid memory of playing with Ernie Els in Singapore in my rookie year in 2008,” said the world No 2.

“That was the first time I played with that calibre of player, and I remember feeling pretty nervous about that. You're thinking about it and you want to play well and you're trying to compare your game to who you're playing with and how you match up and stuff.”