No fewer than 107 years have passed since an Englishman won the PGA Championship. If Aaron Rai can replicate the form he showed here on Saturday, then those two gloved hands might just wrap themselves around the Wanna-maker Trophy on Sunday evening.
Can he do it? It is a huge ask but the possibility exists after this son of Wolverhampton navigated the windiest conditions of the round to sign for a 67 and a clubhouse lead of four under par.
That put him a stroke clear of the resurgent forces of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed. And a couple clear of Justin Rose, too, not to mention Scottie Scheffler and all manner of other men within a good front nine of the lead.
To reach such altitudes, Rai was immense. But here is the thing — this has been a wild tournament and strange things have happened, meaning the final round will be less of a race between two or three horses or more likely the mass start of the London Marathon.
For one, there are no fewer than 20 golfers within two of the lead, breaking the record of 19 that was set at the Open of 2001. But Rai’s nerves, of which there will be many, will come from the identity of those in proximity.
That includes Jon Rahm, who is also at four under, a full three years after his last major win and a matter of weeks on from learning his employers at LIV had lost their Saudi sugar daddies.
Aaron Rai is vying to become the first Englishman to win a PGA Championship in 107 years
Also at the same score is Ludvig Aberg, carrying with him the question of whether this will be the week that he capitalises on a prodigious talent with a breakthrough major. Keeping his composure on a Sunday has been a recurring issue for the Swede.
Joining them on four under were the so-called lesser names of Matti Schmid and Nick Taylor, while Maverick McNealey and Alex Smalley were still on the course and threatening to go even lower. In evening gusts of 25mph, that would take some doing.
In short, this most derided of the four majors, contested on an Aronimink course that had been exceptionally tough all week, has offered the chance of a stunning Sunday shootout.
In Rai, the elements have conspired to deliver a charming surprise. He does not use an agent, he does not come from a wealthy background and, for many, he is best known as the guy who wears two gloves.
As a secondary detail, he has covers on his irons, which is a habit ingrained from his youth because clubs were expensive for a working-class family and he knew the value of what his dad bought him as a kid. Those are biographical lines. As a golfer, his gifts were on show here, which is to say Rai is a short hitter but blessed with greater accuracy than almost anyone on tour. This course, which for three days has rewarded those who can find the greens and then two-putt, has played into his hands.
Six birdies and three bogeys were the shorthand of his round here yesterday — nothing spectacular, but safe progress. The unknown is how he will handle the pressure of attempting to emulate Jim Barnes, the last English winner from 1919.
When Rai led after 36 holes at Myrtle Beach recently, pursuing his second PGA Tour title, he wilted to fifth and this stage is substantially bigger for a man who has never finished higher than 19th in a major.
Like many, he was entirely unaware of the wait for an English winner, saying after his round: ‘The first I heard of that statistic was a few minutes ago. I didn’t realise that was the case. It’s amazing to be in this position, but there’s such a long way to go. A lot of things can and will change so I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself.’
Of the chasing pack, many will place greater wagers on Rahm and the point he must prove about his place among the true elite away from the resort courses of LIV. Plenty will also be bet on McIlroy, whose driving continues to improve — by reaching the green of the par-four sixth in one, before carding a birdie in his 66, showed the spring is back in his step.
After concluding, he said he would retreat to his hired house to watch Batman. For so long, Rose has appeared his Robin on these stages but he too is firmly in the mix.
Much fuss has been made of his switch to clubs designed by a Formula One team, but a brilliant 65 in the calmer morning conditions was built on tremendous accuracy with those maligned irons. Evidently a McLaren can turn a corner on grass.
