WENTWORTH, England — In the wake of a bogey-bogey finish, even to an otherwise solidly played round of golf, there are players who are best left alone. A recovery period is often required after a poor ending to almost five hours of effort, one that does not involve responding to questions from random journalists.

Aaron Rai is not one of those players. The son of an Indian father and a Kenyan mother, the 29-year-old Englishman is unfailingly polite and the product of a culture that prides itself on that admirable characteristic. So there was little or no danger involved in approaching the World No. 22 in the immediate aftermath of a 6-6 conclusion to a second-round 70 that has Rai at six-under-par 138 halfway through the BMW PGA Championship.

“Yeah, a lot of good play overall,” Rai said. “Conditions were tricky. It was pretty windy for the most part. All in all then, it was a good round. It definitely feels worse at the moment with finishing bogey-bogey, but it has been a good two days overall.”

No doubt aiding Rai with that sort of mature perspective is the fact that he is back in his native land on the back of a highly successful season on the PGA Tour. Top of the driving accuracy statistics and seventh in greens in regulation, the Wolverhampton-native displayed a commendable level of consistency in his third full year on the PGA Tour. In 25 starts he accumulated six top-10 finishes, missed only four cuts, picked up his maiden American victory at the Wyndham Championship and earned more than $4.5 million. His presence at the season-ending Tour Championship guarantees he will be eligible for majors and the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2025.

“The great thing for me is that I am continuing to show signs of improvement,” he says. “My long game has definitely been stronger this year, certainly more than in previous years. Those two stats have always been pretty good, but they have been better this year. I haven’t been doing anything differently particularly. It has just developed and become more efficient. That’s often enough at pro level, which is not say there aren’t areas where I would like to see similar improvement. In every part of my game to be honest.”

There are non-swing dynamics that Rai also believes can get better. “I’m thinking of the physical side of things. I’d like to be fitter and stronger,” he says. “And then there is the mental side. Patience and decision-making are so important. Reacting to mistakes too. They all have a significant impact.”

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Still, within that calm big picture analysis, Rai will soon enough have significant things to think about. Currently 67th on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, he will need to first consolidate that spot in order to play in the penultimate playoff event in Abu Dhabi, them move inside the top 50 to claim a place in the climax to the season, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“The events in the Middle East are a little too far ahead for me to worry too much about them at this stage,” Rai says. “I’m actually going to take a little time off after next week’s Spanish Open. It has been an extremely long year on the PGA Tour, and I’m needing a rest. It’s been a really good season too, of course. So I have to be honest I haven’t had time to set any kind of goals for the rest of the year. Although, thinking about it now, I’m probably one good week away from making it into Abi Dhabi at least.”

And there’s more. Ryder Cup qualifying for the European team only became two weeks ago, but already anticipation is building. For most people anyway. But not for Rai. Not yet.

“I hear that there are only six Europeans higher than me in the World Rankings,” he says. “And there is always a lot of conversation about the Ryder Cup in this country. It never seems to go away. And it only grows as the time gets closer. So all I can say is that it would be nice for me to get off to a good start in the points, but at the same time form seems to me to be the biggest thing as the matches get closer. And we’re a long way from the most crucial period right now. So all I can say is that it is on my horizon at this point. But I’ve had a great season, so I have to think I’m part of the conversation at this early stage.”

Rai ranked seventh in greens in regulation on the PGA Tour in 2024, a career-best that helped him to his first tour win and a spot in the Tour Championship.

Andrew Redington

There is one “team” of which Rai is already an integral part though. While only former BMW PGA champion, Simon Khan, springs to mind on the British side of things, Rai is far from alone when it comes to golfers of Indian descent who are shinning of late in world golf.

“If I put England aside for a moment, there are a few Indian players emerging on the PGA Tour,” he says. “Sahith Theegala has Indian heritage. Akshay Bhatia does, too. Then there is Shubhankar Sharma and Julian Suri, too. So if you look worldwide and not just in the U.K. there are a few players with Indian heritage. Some are doing extremely well, and they are all great guys. And all are setting great examples in the way we conduct ourselves. Hopefully, that will have a positive effect on others taking up the game.”

Polite. Always polite.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com