NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai captured the first major championship of his career at the 108th PGA Championship, outlasting a star-studded field at Aronimink Golf Club to etch his name on the Wanamaker Trophy.

He becomes the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since 1918, but even in a sport filled with meticulous routines and superstitions, the 31-year-old stands out before he ever hits a shot.

Rai is one of the rare players in professional golf to wear two gloves, an unconventional choice in a sport where most players simply don one on their non-dominant hand and remove it around the greens.

For Rai, the extra glove is far more than a stylistic choice. The habit dates back to childhood.

“It started when I was 8 years old,” Rai explained.

“I just happened to be given these two gloves, the guy who actually makes them sent a pair over, and I got into the habit of wearing them,” Rai said via Golf Monthly. “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. It was terrible. I couldn’t play, I couldn’t feel the grip, so I’ve always stuck with the two gloves ever since.”

For Rai, the decision is rooted in feel and control. He believes wearing gloves on both hands gives him a stronger, more reliable connection to the club, something that has helped him develop into one of the steadiest ball-strikers in the world. Rai has spent the last two years inside the world’s top 50 and regularly placed himself in contention at some of golf’s biggest events.

There are still exceptions to the rule. Like most professionals, Rai removes his gloves while putting to better control speed and touch on the greens. He also typically uses just one glove for bunker shots.

The gloves themselves are also unique. Rai is an ambassador for MacWet, a company that produces weather-resistant sports gloves. Rai wears the brand’s Climatec Wet Weather model, designed to maintain grip in difficult conditions.

The two gloves are only part of Rai’s distinctive approach.

The 31-year-old is also known for using iron covers, a practice often heavily debated in golf circles, at times perhaps even ridiculed.

For Rai, those habits are tied to gratitude and upbringing as much as performance.

Born and raised in Wolverhampton, England, Rai credits his father for instilling an appreciation for his equipment from an early age. His father, who was born in England to an Indian family, paid for memberships, tournament fees and clubs despite limited financial means. Rai’s mother immigrated to England from Kenya.

“It started from the age of 4 years old, when my dad used to pay for my equipment,” Rai said of his iron covers. “He paid for my membership, paid for my entry fees. It wasn’t money that we really had, to be honest, but he’d always buy me the best clubs.

“When we used to go out and practice, he used to clean every single groove afterward with a pin and baby oil, and, to protect the golf clubs, he thought it would be good to put iron covers on them and I’ve pretty much had iron covers on all my sets ever since, just to kind of appreciate the value of what I have.”

That appreciation extends throughout Rai’s bag. He has famously continued gaming a slightly older driver model, the TaylorMade M6 driver from 2019, and tees the ball up with orange castle tees more commonly associated with weekend 20 handicaps than major-championship winning pros.

Now in possession of his first major championship, those two gloves just might find their way into the World Golf Hall of Fame one day.