If there was one sport that really lends itself to surprise winners its golf.
Occasionally you get a three-figure odds winner in horse racing – such as Blowers, who prevailed at Exeter back in December from an SP of 300/1, but they’re typically still rare.
And in sports like football and tennis, shock champions in the outright market are generally as short as 25/1 – just look at Lincoln City this season, who won the League One title from that price point.
But in golf, barely a month goes by without a huge odds winner on one of the tours – earlier in May, for example, we had the staggering victory of Yurav Premlall, who won the DP World Tour’s Catalunya Championship as a 500/1 no hoper… and by 14 shots, no less, which nearly tied Tiger Woods’ all-time record winning margin of 15.
Premlall hoisted that trophy in Barcelona on May 10 and, just seven days later, there was a 250/1 winner in the world of golf.
But this was no ordinary win.
Major Glory
Aaron Rai is an excellent golfer.
He won the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship back in 2024, with his trophy collection boosted by three victories on the DP World Tour – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the most prestigious of those, coming back in November.
Fifth at the Myrtle Beach Classic on the same day that Premlall was making all sorts of history, Rai was clearly in decent shape heading into the PGA Championship.
Of course, the 31-year-old from Wolverhampton wasn’t amongst the favourites for the second major of the year – hence quotes of 250/1, which were readily available heading into the tournament in Philadelphia.
After the opening round of play, Rai’s odds had barely moved. His opening 18 hole score of level par was solid enough at a challenging Aronimink Golf Club layout, but he found himself behind 33 players – and three shots behind the world number one, Scottie Scheffler.
That gap remained at the halfway stage, with Rai’s 69 enough to pull him into a tie for sixteenth – still three shots off the lead.
But was Rai ready for the weekend? You bet he was, with a Saturday 67 – one of the best rounds of the day – ensuring he headed into the final round tied in second place and just two behind the 54-hole leader, Alex Smalley.
What a time to play the best round of your career…
A so-so front nine concluded on a high note with an eagle at the ninth, before Rai delivered a back nine performance of the golfing gods – four birdies and five pars at one of the toughest courses you will see this year.
Over the course of the afternoon in Philadelphia, Rai went from an outsider to a contender to a massively odds-on favourite… ultimately, he won by three shots from Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley.
Before the off, the Midlander didn’t exactly leap off the page as a potential winner. But, as is always the way with golf betting, there’s always somebody that’s gone down the unexpected route…
Cashing In
By our reckoning, Rai’s 250/1 is the longest price for a major winner in golf in the modern era.
And the only player that can beat him is Ben Curtis, who miraculously won the Open Championship from a starting price of 500/1 back in 2003.
The odd punter backed Curtis, believe it or not, a handful also availed themselves of Rai’s chances last week as well.
SkyBet shared on their social media channels that one of their customers had backed Rai for £20, turning their stake into a happy Sunday payout of £5,020.
Over in America, reports of some even more sizable wins have filtered through. At Caesars Sportsbook, one plucky punter put £140 on a Rai victory – walking away from the cash-in desk with just £28,000 having taken odds of 200/1.
DraftKings, meanwhile, priced Rai at 230/1. They have reported a single customer that backed the Englishman with a sizable stake of £215 – that yielded a handy return of £49,459 when he cantered to victory on Sunday evening.
UNBELIEVABLE HIT 🔥
This bettor cashed in on Aaron Rai’s PGA Championship win 😮💨 @DKSports pic.twitter.com/bXJ2ZYwUWx
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) May 17, 2026