Why Rai winning his first major in Rocky's backyard feels fitting

Breaking news from the world of sport: Why Rai winning his first major in Rocky's backyard feels fitting Figure caption, Rai wins USPGA to claim first career majorByJonathan Jurejko Sport golf reporterPublished2 hours agoIt feels fitting that an underdog who uses what some consider unorthodox methods was last man standing at a slugfest of a US PGA Championship held in Rocky Balboa's backyard. While Aaron Rai waited for his arm to be held aloft in Philadelphia as a first-time major champion, the 31-year-old Englishman could hear Eye of the Tiger - the unmistakable theme tune written for Rocky III - playing in the background as he received congratulations in the Aronimink clubhouse. Rai doesn't punch hanging slabs of meat with his bare knuckles while training like the iconic boxing character.

He is rarely bare knuckled on the golf course. Unusually, Rai wears two gloves instead of the one which virtually everyone else across the world - professional and amateurs alike - wears for enhanced grip. "I just happened to be given two gloves and I got into the habit of wearing them," Rai said of his early forays into the game.

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"Then, a few weeks down the line my dad forgot to put the two gloves in the bag, so I had to play with one. "I couldn't play - I couldn't feel the grip - so I've always stuck with the two gloves ever since. "Two gloves, one major - England's Rai wins US PGA title Published6 hours agoThe quirky look is only one part of what makes Rai's fascinating journey from Wolverhampton to the summit of the golfing world different.

In fact, it was only by accident - and literally because of one - that Rai took up golf at all. Playing with his older brother's hockey sticks as a toddler ended in Rai copping a nasty bruise on his head, leading to mother Dalvir heading to the shops for plastic versions which she thought would be safer. Instead, she came back with plastic golf clubs - and changed the course of her son's life.

Rai harboured hopes of becoming a Formula 1 driver as a youngster, but it was an idea which was quickly overtaken. "I used to love watching Michael Schumacher, and it ran so deep that in junior golf competitions I wore Ferrari T-shirts and jumpers," Rai told Sport in 2018. "That was my thing even from a young age.

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But since eight or nine, it became very quickly just about golf. "Rai's ability became apparent as soon as he started regularly going to the 3 Hammers Golf Complex in Wolverhampton at the age of four. Footage exists of a five-year-old Rai demonstrating his prodigious talent to local television reporters after winning his first tournament.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Rai shot a five-under 65 on Sunday to finish nine-under overall and beat a star-studded leaderboard to the Wanamaker Trophy by three shotsRai's father Amrik used to take him to 3 Hammers for lessons with instructor Darren Prosser, with the youngster going out on the par-three course afterwards to put what he had been taught into practice.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.