Aaron Rai's fifth-place finish at last month's Myrtle Beach Classic may seem like a disappointment considering he led going into the weekend, but he said the outcome was "massively" important to his ensuing PGA Championship win.
The setback also provided lessons he'll carry into this week's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
"That experience at Myrtle Beach was absolutely invaluable for the PGA, and I'm not sure I would have handled the situation as well as I did at the PGA if I hadn't
experienced it the week before at Myrtle Beach," Rai said at a press conference Tuesday ahead of the tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
The 31-year-old Englishman said getting used to the feeling of being in the last group at Myrtle Beach, something he hadn't been a part of for at least five months prior, was "huge."
He also said some "small things" that happened during his final round helped set him up well for his first major win at the PGA Championship.
"Bits from the crowd, bits from a couple of mistakes that I made in the midsection of the round. I think I made four bogeys in a row around the turn. I think just kind of where my mind went, certain things that I could have dealt with better, I was very aware of even on the Saturday of the PGA," Rai said.
"I think when you've had that experience so recently before, it's a lot fresher in the mind and it's a lot easier to make those adjustments. So, yeah, that was crucial, really."
Rai expressed an eagerness to play at Muirfield, which he called "an amazing golf course" and one of his favorites on the PGA Tour.
"It's an absolutely incredible event, a course that I absolutely love," he said. "Very demanding. I think it requires a complete game no matter what your skill set is, whether you're a little shorter, whether you're a little longer, whether you're straight, whether the short game is good. It requires everything to be successful around this event."
This will be Rai's fourth Tour start at Muirfield. He finished T26 in 2022 but missed the cut in his last two appearances in 2023 and 2025.
He said those experiences on the course have shown that "it's really hard," but he plans to take what he's learned from previous years and apply it this weekend.
"Certainly after playing it a little bit more, it definitely requires a little bit more understanding, and I probably haven't done as good of a job as I could in terms of my preparation, especially last year," Rai said of his 9-over-par finish when he posted rounds of 79 and 74 in missing the cut.
"I think just trying to approach it a little bit better. Got here slightly earlier this week as well in order to do so. And to just learn from a couple of the mistakes that I've made in previous years."
Rai will have to get past two-time defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished at 10-under last year for a four-stroke victory over Ben Griffin.
--Field Level Media
