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Aaron Rai withdraws from Byron Nelson
The second major of the year concluded on Sunday with Aaron Rai winning the PGA Championship.
Rai ran away with it on Sunday to win the 2026 PGA Championship, which was rather surprising. Following his win, Rai withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this weekend at the TPC Craig Ranch.
Aaron Rai (major winner) a WD from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Rai will be replaced in the field by S.Y. Noh.
Although Rai just won, major winners usually tend to take a bit of time off to celebrate. By winning the event, Rai is now 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings, which will get him into signature events, so he doesn’t need to play the smaller events.
When Rai will return is uncertain, but playing the Charles Schwab Challenge from May 28-31 or the Memorial Tournament on June 4-7 seems likely return dates for him.
Rory McIlroy, who didn’t even win the event, announced he’s taking the next two events off and will return at the Memorial.
More to come.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton