Aaron Rai shoots 66 to outpace Rory McIlroy in first round at Wentworth
Aaron Rai shot a first-round 66 to finish three shots better than playing partner Rory McIlroy on Wentworth’s West Course at the PGA Championship on 17 September 2026. Ryan Fox posted a 68 and Rai’s score tied the early lead with Joakim Lagergren.
McIlroy’s earlier pro-am round of 60 at Wentworth was a topic of conversation before the tournament, but the Masters champion downplayed it, saying: “Nothing,” said the Masters champion. “Besides a social media post I didn’t want.” He added: “It doesn’t mean anything,” and: “My playing partners were happy, they won something.” The 31-year-old Rai, who won this year’s US PGA Championship, acknowledged feeling unsettled about being paired with McIlroy but produced the low round regardless.
“I felt really nervous,” said Rai. “I can’t remember feeling that nervous on a Thursday. It’s an amazing experience to be playing with the likes of Rory. 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. Obviously it’s really amazing to be out there with Ryan and Rory. I am just really pleased that I got into the round pretty fast and that I continued to play well. It’s a place that I’ve enjoyed even before I even competed in the 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 it’s a place that I enjoy and it’s always good coming here.”
McIlroy, working through technical changes, described a gap between practice and tournament golf: “It definitely still looks better on the range than it does when I get out there on the course,” he said. “But over time, if I just keep to what I’m doing, it will hopefully start to bed in.” During his round he had been five under inside 10 holes before having to settle for minus three.
Ryan Fox carded a 68 in the group with Rai and McIlroy. Beyond the trio, the leaderboard early on showed the lead shared by Rai and Joakim Lagergren, with the lead one from Ryan Gerard and Adam Scott.
Patrick Reed also recorded a 68 and spoke about competing against McIlroy and the season-long standings, saying: “Any time I get to go play against Rory, it’s always fun because that means you get to play some amazing golf. With his record and the résumé that he has, he’s a champion. He’s been a champion a ton of times and he’s one of those guys that if you go up against the best, you’re going to have to take him and Scottie [Scheffler] on. To have the opportunity to take him on throughout the whole rest of the year is going to be fun.” Reed insisted if he denies McIlroy what would be a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, he will only be delaying the inevitable.
Matt Fitzpatrick said on Wednesday he is not comfortable with participating in events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, and McIlroy addressed that issue, adding: “If the local governments feel like it’s safe to put on these events, they are not going to put their citizens or people visiting in harm’s way. I love the Middle East. I have a lot of friends there and I’m looking forward to going back for sure.”
Reed’s challenge to McIlroy in the DP World Tour’s season-long order of merit and the discussion over events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai frame the immediate stakes after the opening round, with both the Race to Dubai contest and upcoming Middle East events referenced by players.