18/05/2026 Free Drop 5-Minute World Tour

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Professional Golf

PGA Championship: Assured Rai wins at Aronimink  

Photo credit: PGA Championship/X 

Aaron Rai put on a final round masterclass at Aronimink, carding a 5-under 65 en route to a 3-shot win.

Alex Smalley was the surprise 54–hole leader at 6-under but there were a host of players within four of the lead.

After five pars to start the day, Smalley fell out of the lead with a double-bogey at 6 before another drop at the 8th.

Rai’s front-nine was altogether different. Birdies at the 1st and 4th were cancelled out by drops at 3 and 6 before he responded to a bogey at the 8th with a superb eagle-3 at the next.

That galvanised the Englishman who birdied the 11th and 13th holes, playing with remarkable assurance.

Much was expected of Rory McIlroy who started the day three behind. Unlike Rai, birdies were in short supply, he only made two all day, and dropped a shot at the short par-4 12th.

Uncharacteristically, McIlroy parred both par-5s on the course in an eventual 1-under effort. 

By contrast, Rai birdied the par-5 16th and birdied 17 too before a par at 18 confirmed a fantastic victory over Jon Rahm (68) and Alex Smalley who battled back to a level-par 70.

LPGA Tour: Woad wins by 2 

Photo credit: LPGA/X 

Lottie Woad closed with a 1-under 69 to win the Kroger Queen City Championship by two strokes over Haeran Ryu at Maketewah Country Club.

After a level-par opening round, Woad’s challenge roared into life with rounds of 64 and 65 which helped her open up a three-shot advantage.

The final round was an interesting one for the Englishwoman. After an opening-hole birdie, a double-bogey at the 6th was sandwiched between birdies at the 5th and 7th holes. 

She offset a bogey at 13 with a birdie at her penultimate hole which ensured Woad held off the challenge of Ryu who closed with a 67.

Sunshine Tour: Pepler goes wire-to-wire at Kit Kat Pro-Am 

Photo credit: Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour 

Gerhard Pepler seized the KIt Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am by the scruff of the neck with a first round 9-under 63 and didn’t loosen his grip, eventually gripping the trophy after a two-stroke triumph at Irene Country Club.

Pepler set a break-neck pace through 36 holes as he backed up his stunning opening round effort with an equally impressive 64 on Friday to open up a six-shot advantage.

A level-par third round brought a trio of players – Christiaan Burke (67), Jaco Prinsloo (66) and Jack Davidson (68) to within two shots of the lead.

That was as close as they’d get as Pepler put on another clinic on Sunday. Birdies at his first two holes preceded a third red number at 8. Further red numbers followed at 11 and 12 before an eagle-3 rubber-stamped a closing 65.

Astonishingly, 2nd-place went to Graham van der Merwe who rocketed up the leaderboard with a Sunday 61 which featured nine birdies and an eagle. 

Korn Ferry Tour: Sherwood wins maiden title at Colonial Life Classic

Photo credit: Korn Ferry Tour/X 

Cole Sherwood shot a final round 4-under 66 to emerge a one-shot victor in the Colonial Life Classic at The Woodcreek Club.

Sherwood began the day in a share of the lead with Carson Young and Josh Teater. Young (70) and Teater (69) failed to sustain their challenges in the final round, however.

Sherwood rebounded from an opening-hole bogey with three birdies before the turn. He birdied the 10th before giving a shot back at 11. A birdie at 14 kept him on track for the victory but with Zac Blair setting the clubhouse lead at 15-under after a 64, he still needed one more red number.

It arrived in the form of a birdie-4 at the penultimate hole and helped Sherwood to the first title of his Korn Ferry Tour career.

HotelPlanner Tour: Ereno beats Brown in Catalunya playoff

Two birdies over the final three holes of regulation and a par at the second extra hole saw Pablo Ereno outlast Hamish Brown to win the Open de Catalunya at Fontanals Golf Club.

The pair ended regulation play tied on 22-under par. Brown collected three back-nine birdies in a 4-under 68. Ereno meanwhile collected six birdies in a seven hole stretch from the 6th, a sequence interrupted by a double-bogey 5 at the 8th in an eventual 8-under 64.

Brown and Ereno traded birdie-3s at the first extra-hole but on their second trip down 18, Brown couldn’t do better than a bogey-5 and victory belonged to Spain’s Ereno. 

Fun Facts & Scary Stats

1. Aaron Rai is the first player to win the PGA Championship by improving upon his score each round. Credit Justin Ray Golf.

2. Justin Rose is the first player aged 45 or older to finish in the top-10 of the first two Majors in a year since Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Credit: Justin Ray Golf

3. 2026 marks the first year since 1934 that a European player has won the first two Majors of the year. Credit: Justin Ray Golf