Scottish Open: Aaron Rai and his two gloves getting noticed

Aaron Rai is one of only a few professionals who wear two gloves. After Sunday, he can use those gloves to hold the Scottish Open trophy.

Up until this week, Aaron Rai was mostly known as one of the few professional golfers who wears two gloves. But on Sunday, he capped off the biggest win of his career to this point, winning at the Scottish Open.

Rai is a native of Wolverhampton, England and is in his eighth year as a professional. Still just 25 years of age, Rai earned three wins on the Challenge Tour in 2017, earning his way onto the European Tour the following year.

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During his rookie season on the Euro Tour, Rai earned his first victory on that tour, winning at the Hong Kong Open in 2018. He beat Matthew Fitzpatrick by one shot and quickly established himself as one of the rising stars on the tour.

But on Sunday, Rai rallied from behind by shooting one of the best rounds of his life. It didn’t appear to be anything special at the start, as Rai parred the first hole, then bogeyed the second.

However, the round took off shortly thereafter. Rai recorded three straight birdies to go from 1-over to 2-under on his round through five holes.

After a par on the sixth hole, Rai birdied the seventh and eighth holes to propel himself to 4-under par. He would finish with a 32 on his front nine.

On the back side, Rai opened with two straight pars before birdies on the 12th and 13th holes got him to 6-under on his Sunday round. He would par the 14th and 15th holes to stay at that number.

Rai would record his final birdie of the round on the 16th hole, getting to 7-under. He would par the 17th and 18th holes to finish with a 7-under par 64, which was the best round on the course in the final round.

At the end of regulation, Rai found himself tied with Tommy Fleetwood at 11-under par. The two players went to a sudden death playoff, beginning on the 18th hole.

Both players missed the green of the par four with their second shots. Rai was able to get up and down, but Fleetwood was left with about three feet for par to send the playoff to a second extra hole. However, Fleetwood pulled his downhill putt to the left, giving Rai the title in Scotland.

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For Rai, it was his second big week in a row on the European Tour. He was runner-up at the Irish Open last week, falling two shots short of John Caitlin. That result moved Rai from number 254 to number 183 in the Official World Golf Ranking. This week’s win in Scotland will move him up that list even more.

Rai is making waves and becoming known for much more than wearing two gloves.

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