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Aaron Rai emerges to win first major; 1st Englishman to win PGA since 1919

PGA: PGA Championship - Final RoundMay 17, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Aaron Rai reacts on the first green during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai drained a series of increasingly long putts to write himself into the history books and win his first major title Sunday at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.

Rai made a 40-foot eagle putt at the par-5 ninth hole to cap an uneven first nine, then pulled away with four birdies on the back and converted a remarkable 68 1/2-foot birdie at the par-3 17th to remove any doubt.

Rai, 31, is the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919. Americans had claimed this major each of the last 10 years.

Rai’s 5-under-par 65 put him 9-under 271 and three strokes ahead of Jon Rahm of Spain (68) and Alex Smalley. He had started the day in a five-way tie for second behind Smalley.

The first English major winner since Matt Fitzpatrick took the 2022 U.S. Open title, Rai was one of several less familiar names on the 54-hole leaderboard. But he was ranked No. 44 in the world entering the week, with one win on the PGA Tour and three more on the DP World Tour for his career.

He previously had not finished better than T19 at a major.

Rai’s putter was far from the only club working for him. He gave himself 4-foot birdies with tight approaches at Nos. 1 and 11, though he overshot the greens at Nos. 3 and 6 to lead to two of his three front-nine bogeys.

Everything turned when Rai lined up his eagle putt at No. 9. He left in the pin for the downhill, left-to-right putt and it tracked perfectly into the hole.

The birdie at No. 11 drew Rai even with Germany’s Matti Schmid, and he became the first player to touch 7 under all week at the short par-4 13th. Rai’s tee shot went in the front-right bunker, but he got his 39-yard sand shot to stop inside 7 feet to set up birdie.

Justin Thomas went into the clubhouse at 5-under 275 at about 3:05 p.m. local time, and that held up for most of the afternoon as players battled Aronimink’s more demanding back nine.

Smalley, Rahm, Rai and Schmid each held at least a share of the lead at 6 under at some point. Smalley — seeking his first professional win of any kind — irreparably harmed his chances with a messy double bogey at the par-4 sixth and a bogey at No. 8.

Schmid, playing in the final pairing with Smalley and also winless on the PGA Tour, took the lead from him at No. 6 when he got a 19 1/2-foot birdie to fall. But his bogey on No. 10 opened the door for Rai.

Rai was one of the only players who managed to tame the back nine. Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy could not muster a late rally, posting 69 and landing at 4 under.

Reigning champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had a ho-hum 69 and finished seven behind Rai at 2 under.

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

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Jake Burger stars as Rangers salvage win vs. Astros

MLB: Texas Rangers at Houston AstrosMay 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) hits a two-run home run to right field against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Jake Burger produced a pair of extra-base hits, including a two-run double that ignited a five-run seventh inning, and Nathan Eovaldi twirled seven shutout innings as the visiting Texas Rangers averted a three-game series sweep with an 8-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Burger was the linchpin in the series finale for a flagging Texas offense that totaled one run in the first two games of the series. He finished 2-for-4 with a home run, the double and four RBIs.

Astros right-hander Peter Lambert (2-4) matched zeroes with Eovaldi (5-4) through four innings before Burger swung momentum in the Rangers’ favor with one out in the top of the fifth.

Alejandro Osuna produced an infield single, the first hit Lambert allowed before Burger followed by drilling a 2-1 fastball the opposite way for a two-run homer that snapped a scoreless deadlock. Burger drove his eighth homer this season 356 feet to right field.

Lambert reclaimed control when he retired the next five batters. But Joc Pederson walked to lead off the seventh before Ezequiel Duran (double) and Osuna (hit by pitch) chased Lambert. Burger greeted Astros reliever Cody Bolton with a double to left that doubled the lead to 4-0.

Kyle Higashioka added a single that plated Osuna and Burger. Two batters later, Brandon Nimmo doubled off the scoreboard in left to score Higashioka, who capped the scoring with a homer in the ninth.

Lambert allowed five runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six-plus innings.

Eovaldi improved to 4-2 with a 2.54 ERA across seven starts in his hometown. He allowed five hits and two walks with a season-high-tying eight strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes.

Eovaldi induced an inning-ending double play from Brice Matthews in the third inning, and he stranded runners on the corners when he got Braden Shewmake to fly out to left in the fourth. The Astros fashioned a threat in the seventh when Cam Smith followed a Shewmake double with a walk, but Eovaldi responded with a pair of groundball outs to conclude his stellar outing.

–Field Level Media

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Braves turn fast start into 8-1 victory over Red Sox

MLB: Boston Red Sox at Atlanta BravesMay 17, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (27) runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Austin Riley and Mike Yastrzemski each hit home runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-1 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Atlanta scored in four of the first five innings and cruised to the series-clinching victory, as Grant Holmes pitched six innings, while Reynaldo Lopez and Tyler Kinley combined to worked three innings in relief.

Holmes (3-1) scattered five hits, walked one and struck out four. Lopez followed with two scoreless innings.

Drake Baldwin also drove in two runs for the Braves, who logged eight hits to nine for the Red Sox.

Nick Sogard brought in Boston’s lone run with a ninth-inning double. Jarren Duran went 2-for-5 with a double for the Red Sox, while starter Brayan Bello allowed seven runs on eight hits across five innings.

Atlanta worked a 30-pitch first inning from Bello, while getting a three-run homer from Riley to left-center field.

Four Braves hitters reached base before Bello recorded the first out of the second. Jorge Mateo doubled, Yastrzemski singled and Jose Azocar walked to load the bases. Drake Baldwin walked in a run and Matt Olson brought home a run on a ground out for 5-0 lead.

Holmes stranded baserunners in five of his six innings, including a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth after Willson Contreras doubled and Ceddanne Rafaela walked.

Yastrzemski launched a leadoff homer into the right-field corner in the fourth and Dominic Smith had an RBI single in the fifth.

Back-to-back walks off reliever Red Sox Ryan Watson led to a Baldwin sacrifice fly, extending the Atlanta lead to 8-0 in the eighth.

The Braves were one out away from their fifth shutout of the season, but Connor Wong singled and scored on Sogard’s double into the right-field corner. Sogard was recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Saturday to take the place of injured infielder Trevor Story.

The game entered a 33-minute rain delay in the middle of the sixth inning. Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez did not return after the delay after he was diagnosed with finger pain. Wong came in as his replacement.

–Field Level Media

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Mets complete late rally, top Yankees 7-6 in 10 innings

MLB: New York Yankees at New York MetsMay 17, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) looks up at his solo home run during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Carson Benge drove in the game-ending run in the 10th inning for the second time in a week as the New York Mets stormed back from a four-run deficit to stun the visiting New York Yankees 7-6 on Sunday in the deciding game of this season’s first Subway Series.

The Mets’ Luis Torrens began the comeback from a 6-1 deficit with a two-run pinch-hit double in the sixth and Tyrone Taylor forced extra innings with a three-run homer in the ninth off David Bednar.

The Mets won a game in which they trailed after eight innings for the first time since 2024.

Rookie A.J. Ewing opened the 10th by laying down a sacrifice bunt against Tim Hill (0-1) to move automatic runner Marcus Semien to third. Hill then hit Torrens with a pitch.

Benge, who had a game-ending single in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers, followed with a grounder to the middle against a drawn-in infield. Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and shortstop Anthony Volpe collided as Semien raced home.

Devin Williams (3-1) issued a one-out walk in the 10th but stranded automatic runner Ryan McMahon at third by getting Austin Wells to hit into an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play.

Semien had an RBI double for the Mets, who went 5-1 on their homestand and improved to 10-5 this month. Mark Vientos recorded two hits while rookie A.J. Ewing reached base in all four plate appearances with a single and three walks.

Volpe had a tie-breaking two-run single in the sixth and finished with three RBIs for the Yankees, who went 2-7 on a nine-game road trip.

Ben Rice homered in the third for his 15th of the season that is one shy of teammate Aaron Judge for the American League lead. Amed Rosario had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly for the Yankees.

The Mets’ ninth-inning rally spared inefficient starter Freddy Peralta the loss. Peralta surrendered three runs on two hits and six walks in five innings while striking out four. The six walks tied a career-high set most recently on May 5, 2024.

The Yankees’ Elmer Rodriguez gave up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out one over 4 1/3 innings in his third career start.

–Field Level Media

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