VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND | It could not have taken very long for the organisers of the BMW PGA Championship when drawing up the groupings for the first two rounds to realise that in Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Ryan Fox, they had jewels, three of this year’s four major champions. And that if they were grouped together then this totemic trio would deliver quite a demonstration of top-class golf to the spectators whether those out on the course or watching on television.
Consider the credentials of these men, their drawing power: the curly-haired McIlroy, the world No. 2, won his second successive victory at the Masters Tournament in April, having become the sixth man to win the game’s four major championships with his 2025 triumph at Augusta; the charming and often black-gloved Rai, who captured the PGA Championship so thrillingly at Aronimink in May; and the restless and slightly portly Fox, who sealed victory in his first major championship by taking 22 seconds to hole an 11½-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win July’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
“They are such good men, if you like,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “They are such good people.”
McIlroy’s charm is undoubted. But what was less well known and was revealed in the aftermath of their major-championship victories is that Rai and Fox are among the most popular men in professional golf, anointed so by their peers.
“I think if we all had a little more Aaron Rai in us, the world would be a better place,” McIlroy said. “I think just his humility, his humbleness, and his kindness, his work ethic, his dedication. He’s the ultimate professional, but he does it all in the right way. You walk up and down that range all day, you wouldn’t find one person who had a bad word to say about him. … He just does everything with class and grace and humility. He was a very deserving winner of the PGA.”
A lot is known and said about Rai’s calmness, though not by him. As was noted in GGP after his victory at Aronimink, the last time he raised his voice was probably during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
But this paragon does have to emit on occasions. Even he, a man known for the quietness of his speech and impeccable manners, cannot keep his emotions inside him all the time. He has to release the pressure on occasions.
And at a dinner during the Open he revealed how on the Sunday night drive back to his rental house in Philadelphia, the massive PGA trophy in his lap, he turned to his wife and asked: “Do you mind if I let off steam?”
She gave a smile that suggested she both understood and granted permission. At which point the 31-year-old Englishman wound down the window of his car and let out a yell that could have been heard in Florida. After which he probably wound up the window of his car and apologised for making such a racket.
To hear the noise on Thursday when these three men climbed up the hill from the 18th green at Wentworth to the first tee, having started at the ninth, was to realise the depth of affection in which they are held. At that point McIlroy was 5-under par after birdieing the 10th, 12th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes, Rai was 4-under and Fox was 2-under.
It is well known how powerfully McIlroy hits the ball, sending it long distances for a man of his height and weight. Rai’s ball flight is not so powerful and nor does he command the stage with the obvious confidence of McIlroy. Indeed, he would later confess that he felt nervous playing with Rory.
Early in their rounds, which had started at 7:40 a.m., McIlroy and Rai jointly held the lead while Fox was not far behind. By the end Rai had moved to 6-under par, and Fox to 4-under, while McIlroy had retreated to 3-under.
But there is no doubt that Rai can play. “I think a lot is made of Aaron’s work ethic and his structures and everything, but whenever I play with him, I think he plays with a lot of feel and shapes it both ways,” Fleetwood said. “Definitely his game, it’s made for majors in a way, the way he plays golf. He’s never going to smash it around a golf course. He’s always going to plot his way around and he’s always going to be very strategic. I’ve always felt like Aaron’s game is meant for some of the toughest golf courses in the world.”
And Fox? His is a restless presence, prowling, twitching, rarely still. His length from the tee is in obverse proportion to his height on it. “Foxy is like salt of the earth,” Shane Lowry said of the 39-year-old New Zealander. “I think his upbringing and where he’s from is quite similar to someone like me. He reminds me of an Irishman to be honest.
“It’s great to see somebody – it’s great to see a popular winner, and it’s great to see someone that everyone is happy for him on the tour. … I don’t think this win or anything that comes with it will change him.”
Early in their rounds, which had started at 7:40 a.m., McIlroy and Rai jointly held the lead while Fox was not far behind. By the end Rai had moved to 6-under par, and Fox to 4-under, while McIlroy had retreated to 3-under.
McIlroy, who had three bogeys on his inward nine holes, recounted his practice round a day earlier when starting at the second he had nine birdies and an eagle in a row. He made it sound ho-hum.
As for Rai, he said: “I … felt really nervous. 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.”