Aaron Rai's former form tutor has recalled the golfer's unwavering determination as a youngster, remembering how he would be picked up from school by his father to head straight to golf practice. Kathy Dyer, who was Rai's first form tutor when he started at Wolverhampton Grammar School in 2006, described the then-11-year-old as "very much the same as what he is today – very quiet, very humble, very polite, just a true gentleman."
Historic Victory
Rai, aged 31, made history on Sunday by becoming the first English winner of the US PGA Championship in over a century. He finished three shots clear of the field, securing $3.69 million (£2.76 million) in prize money. Buckingham Palace congratulated him on an "extraordinary" victory, while the Prime Minister labelled him a "history maker."
School Memories
Mrs Dyer, who serves as head of girls' games at the school, told the Press Association: "I remember that his dad would pick him up from the sports hall, probably at break time, two or three times a week. And he would take him off to play golf for the rest of the day." She added that when Rai turned 16, he faced a crucial decision: pursue a professional golf career or continue his education. "He wanted to be a golf pro but he also wanted to continue with his education. So he would come in every Tuesday afternoon and he was tutored at A-level maths by our deputy head at the time, Peter Hills, in his own time."
Rai later invited Mr Hills and his son Michael to play golf with him at a local course as a gesture of gratitude. Mrs Dyer noted: "There's a number of staff that follow golf. Aaron's name is mentioned a lot in the staff common room. Obviously this morning it was huge. We're very proud that he came to this school."
World Record at Age 15
Recalling a remarkable achievement, Mrs Dyer said: "I remember that was a huge thing at the time. Our head at the time who was a big golf fan made a huge thing about it in assembly but Aaron was still very humble, very quiet, and very, very polite." This refers to Rai setting a world record at age 15 with 207 consecutive 10-foot putts.
School's Pride
The school's head, Nic Anderson, who interviewed Rai for a place in 2006, expressed immense pride: "We're incredibly proud. He played golf all the time. His dad was very much his first and only supporter in the early days. And then, as he rose through the ranks I know he had a number of coaches who influenced him. But I'd hope as a school, we were very supportive at the time for him to achieve what he has achieved."
Mr Anderson added that due to exam season, no major announcement has been made yet, but a celebration is planned: "We haven't made a big announcement this morning because as you can imagine we're in exam season. So we haven't had a big assembly but as soon as we have a big assembly we'll be advertising the fact that a former student of the school has won a major."
Royal and Prime Ministerial Congratulations
A post on the Royal Family X account read: "Congratulations Aaron Rai on your extraordinary PGA Championship win!" Sir Keir Starmer also congratulated Rai, posting on X: "History maker. Congratulations Aaron Rai on your extraordinary win at the PGA Championship, the first English golfer to win for 107 years."
