Aaron Rai wins first PGA Tour title at Wyndham Championship as Max Greyserman collapses

12/08/2024 01:30

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Aaron Rai was the last man standing in near darkness at Sunday’s 36-hole endurance test, winning his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship thanks to a back-nine blow-up by Max Greyserman.

Rai, a 29-year-old Englishman who last won in 2020 on the DP World Tour, shot a bogey-free 6-under 64 in the final round at Sedgefield Country Club to claim a two-stroke victory.

But Greyserman was in the driver seat after holing out his second shot for eagle at the 13th hole to build a seemingly commanding four-stroke lead. Not so fast as it turned out. His tee shot at the 14th hole sailed right and bounced off the cart path and over a fence out of bounds. He made an eight and his lead was gone in one hole.

Greyserman, a 29-year-old Tour rookie, regained the lead at 18 under with a two-putt birdie at No. 15 but he took four putts at the par-3 16th to make a double bogey and drop back to 16 under. Greyserman had been leading the field in putting for the week. He closed in 69 and finished alone in second.

Rai, who opened with a pair of 65s and added a third-round 68, chased Greyserman with four birdies in a row starting at the third to climb to 16 under. He tacked on birdies at Nos. 12 and sank an 8-foot birdie putt at the last to clinch the win. Rai has been knocking on the door with Top-20 finishes in five of his last six starts and three of them top 10s, including a T-2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a T-4 at the Genesis Scottish Open.

J.J. Spain fired a 64, the low score of the final round, and finished T-3 with Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.

Victor Perez, who started the week as the “Bubble Boy” at No. 70 in the FedEx Cup standings, shot 68 and finished T-33 to hang on to the last spot in the 70-man playoffs, which begin next week in Memphis at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Tropical Storm Debby dumped more than six inches of rain on the course on Thursday postponing play. The 36-hole cut wasn’t made until Sunday morning and the 67 players had to play at least 36 holes. Only Matt Kuchar elected to wait to complete his round on Monday.