England’s Aaron Rai claimed the PGA Championship on Sunday with an outstanding final round performance, banking approximately £2.7 million for his efforts at Aronimink Golf Club — a payday that his caddie will also share in.
For the first time in over a century, an Englishman lifted the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening, as 31 year old Rai delivered a stunning back nine to capture his first major title. Having never previously cracked the top-10 at any of golf’s major championships, Rai displayed remarkable composure as he worked his way into contention.
A remarkable 69-foot putt on the 17th green proved to be the decisive moment, as he finished at nine-under to be crowned champion.
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The PGA Championship’s prize fund was boosted to $20.5 million this year, with Rai pocketing $3.69 million. His caddie, Jason Timmis, stands to collect a significant cut of that prize money.
In professional golf, caddies typically earn around 10 per cent of a player’s winnings, though this figure can differ depending on the arrangement between player and caddie. For Timmis, Rai’s PGA Championship triumph could mean a windfall of $369,000.
The pair have worked together for seven years, having first teamed up in 2019. This represents the largest single payday of Rai’s PGA Tour career, during which he has accumulated approximately $16 million in total earnings — with his Aronimink victory accounting for nearly a quarter of that figure.
Timmis is also set for a large payday -Credit:Getty
His most recent Tour victory came at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, where he pocketed just over £1m for his win at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro. Rai embraced his wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, following his landmark major triumph on Sunday, and credited his family when questioned about how he achieved the feat.
“I think a lot of that has come from upbringing, my mom, my dad, my siblings,” Rai said. “Golf was always a very big part of my life from a very young age. But my mom and my siblings were very fast to continue to reinforce the importance of just being a good person and trying to do the right things away from golf.”
“My dad was with me … every day practice-wise, and he really instilled the importance of work and dedication and trying to consistently build just good, strong habits around the game.
“My mom worked extremely hard away from golf. Her jobs, she worked a couple of jobs at one time, at a point in time, and she did a lot of work around the house. My sister took a massive role as well at a young age.
“She had a job from the age of 14, 15. So there was a lot of consistent messaging of hard work, and that was generally the environment that was there at the house. And that was at the golf course as well.”