Aaron Rai claims second European Tour win in Scottish Open success
Former Shropshire & Herefordshire junior golfer Aaron Rai has claimed a second European Tour victory of his career by edging out Tommy Fleetwood in a dramatic play off at the Scottish Open.
Rai, 25, emerged from the pack on the final day after carding a superb seven-under round of 64 at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick to pocket a prize cheque of £882,000 – the biggest of his career.
That left him on 11-under for the Tour event, level with former US Open and The Open runner-up Fleetwood, meaning a play off was required on the par four 18th hole.
And former Wolverhampton Grammar School student Rai held his nerve with a level par score, edging out fellow Englishman Fleetwood, who shot a bogey.
The Scotland success follows up his maiden previous victory on the Tour, in the 2018 Hong Kong Open.
Rai, who lives in Perton in Wolverhampton, has been in fine form in recent weeks and fell just short of a European Tour victory in Ballymena seven days earlier, where a final-hole bogey meant he narrowly avoided forcing a play off against American John Catlin.
But there was no slip ups this time around as Rai, who will likely have landed the biggest pay cheque of his career, shot a stunning round of 64 – including eight birdies – to put himself among the frontrunners.
He had been steady if unspectacular up to that point, after managing rounds of one-under, two-under and one-under going into the final day.
A bogey on the 18th cost Staffordshire's Robert Rock a spot in the play off alongside Rai and Fleetwood.
Four birdies on the back nine had Rock in contention but he was unable to get over the line at the final hole.
Rock's third-placed finish was worth £325,000.
