BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 17, 2026

Aaron Rai

Wentworth Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Really solid start. Great to see you playing well. Give us your reaction to that round of golf?

AARON RAI: Really pleased overall. Conditions were pretty tricky. We had a lot of rain during that warm up. But by the time it started, the wind had stopped, so that helped to start really well. I felt like I got into the round fast and got a couple birdies early on and continued to just play well throughout the round and keep the momentum going when I was out of position.

So, yeah, really good. Really good start.

Q. Can you talk us through the decision about the tee shot on 8? We were all surprised to see it go into the water. Obviously fantastic to make a par there but talk us through that hole.

AARON RAI: Yeah, so we played it the last two days and hit driver both days. Wind conditions felt like it suited that shot though do it again but underestimated the strength of the wind and it was a little stronger than it was the previous two days and the fairway was a lot firmer than we expected.

A really good tee shot but obviously ran out a lot more. Nonetheless, extremely pleasing to make par there. A bit of a difficult way to finish.

Q. The wind at Wentworth is a big talking point, especially this week because it is here and sometimes out there was really gusting, and we also hear of micro winds because of the way the wind funnels from one fairway into the other. What's your strategy to read the wind successfully?

AARON RAI: I think it's always a little bit of a guessing game. A lot of holes are very tree-lined and the trees are very tall, as well, so it's always swirling around.

The time that it's feeling constant, just really trusting where the wind is. And the times that it feels constant, just really trusting where the wind is, and the times that it feels like it's swirling or moving around a little bit, just to try and choose a ball flight to take as much out of the equation as possible. Again, it's still a little bit of guesswork and trying to adjust to what you play to, but yeah, just educated guessing, really, and kind of playing for the wider areas.