Aaron Rai records his best PGA Tour finish so far
Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai registered his best finish to date on the US PGA Tour in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Rai, a former Wolverhampton Grammar School pupil, finished tied fourth in the unusual pairs event alongside David Lipsky of the US. The pair finished the event at TPC Louisiana on 23 under par, six shots behind winners Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
The fourth-place finished betters Rai’s previous best PGA Tour finish, a tied sixth at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. It proved an eventful week for Rai’s partner Lipsky, who escaped unhurt from a multi-vehicle car crash in the build-up to the tournament.
Schauffele and Cantlay held off the challenge of Billy Horschel and Sam Burns, who cut their five-shot lead cut to a single stroke, but held their nerve on the back nine to close out victory at TPC Louisiana.
A final round of 72 in Sunday’s foursomes gave the Ryder Cup team-mates a winning total of 29 under par, with Horschel and Burns two shots behind following a 68.
“It’s awesome,” Schauffele told CBS. “I said earlier this week if there’s any success I could share with someone it’d be Pat so I’m happy we could get it done.”
Cantlay, who lost a play-off to Jordan Spieth in the RBC Heritage last week, added: “It was a great week. We had a lot of fun, both on and off the golf course, and we’re really happy to get it done.”
