NEWTOWN SQUARE (AFP) — Aaron Rai won his first major title by capturing the PGA Championship, making birdies on four of the last eight holes to become the first Englishman since 1919 to win the event on Sunday.

Rai sealed a tense back-nine shootout with a spectacular 68-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th, firing his career-low major round with a five-under-par 65 to finish 72 holes on nine-under 271 at formidable Aronimink.

"Very surreal," said Rai, who has fought a neck injury this year. "It has been a frustrating season so to be standing here is outside my modest imagination."

He defeated two-time major winner Jon Rahm of Spain and American Alex Smalley by three strokes with American Justin Thomas, Germany's Matti Schmid and Sweden's Ludvig Aberg sharing fourth on 275.

The 31-year-old from Wombourne in central England took home a $3.69 million top prize from a record purse of $20.5 million and the Wanamaker Trophy after a dramatic final day.

Rai became only the second English player to win the PGA after Jim Barnes captured the first two titles in 1916 and 1919.

Never better than 19th in 12 prior major starts, Rai won his third DP World Tour title last November in Abu Dhabi and his only PGA Tour title in 2024 at Greensboro.

Playing cautiously in windy weather on Aronimink's sloped greens, the world's top golfers battled the course and each other in a fight that turned as Rai surged into the lead.

Rai answered a bogey at eight with a 40-foot eagle putt at the par-five ninth, then sank birdie putts from four feet at 11 and seven feet at 13, becoming the week's first to reach seven-under.

Schmid, seeking his first PGA Tour title in his fifth major start and first PGA Championship, sank a birdie putt from just inside nine feet at 13 to pull within one of the lead.

Rai responded by reaching the green in two at the par-five 16th to set up a tap-in birdie.

He then delivered a knockout blow by curling in his monster birdie putt over a ridge at 17 to reach nine-under while Schmid made bogey at 15 to leave Rai ahead by four strokes.

"I definitely wasn't trying to hole that putt," Rai said. 

"The shadow gave the putt a nice line the last 10 feet so that helped. It was about the speed of the putt. Nice to see it go in."