Jack Nicklaus’ ‘surreal’ gesture floors major winner

This wasn’t a bill. Nor a brochure. Nor a book of coupons. 

It was a letter. Hand-written. Delivered to him, now a winner of a major championship. 

Sent by someone who has won 18 of those.

“Kind of surreal,” Aaron Rai said. 

Then he put pen to paper himself. 

On Tuesday of the Open Championship, the group of assembled writers heard about writing in Rai’s press conference. A reporter had been curious about Rai’s note, which came to light last week in a story written by the DP World Tour at the Genesis Scottish Open. There, Rai said he bumped into old friend and fellow pro Pablo Larrazabal, who, after congratulating Rai on his win in May at the PGA Championship, said he’d been struggling. The thought stuck with Rai. A short while later, with the help of his brother-in-law, he left the following message in Larrazabal’s locker, along with a few photos of Larrazabal celebrating previous wins:  

Pablo, 

The guy in these pictures is who you are and he is much closer to the present you than you think. Keep fighting, keep working hard and most importantly keep believing — in each tournament, each round and each shot. 

Best wishes, 

Aaron Rai

Larrazabal told the DP World Tour that he was overwhelmed by the gesture. “It’s not all about winning,” he said, “and Aaron knows and his family teach him very very well. It’s not all about winning. It’s all about leaving a legacy. Aaron will be leaving a legacy around the world, not only because of his game, [but because of how] he behaves not only on the golf course but outside the golf course. A true gentleman.” Tuesday, Rai said he wanted to be supportive. 

“It felt like just the right thing to do,” he said. “So that’s where it came from, really.”

But back to the letter Rai had been mailed. 

From Jack Nicklaus. For over 40 years, the Golden Bear has written to major winners, and Rai said he was floored when his note came.

“After the PGA, I received a handwritten letter from Jack Nicklaus, which was kind of surreal when we opened the mail,” he said. 

“Yeah, for someone like that to take the time to write to me after the PGA, it definitely shows the class of what Jack is about.”

Rai’s note furthered his reputation of being one of pro golf’s nicest players, which made a reporter wonder: How Rai could be both kind and “ruthless,” which he showed while winning the PGA?

“That’s a good question,” Rai said. “I think those two aspects are two pretty different things. I think for me personally it’s important that you try and conduct yourself in the best way you can and try and do as well as you can by yourself, by others as well. I think that’s just the right thing to do as a human.

“In terms of the golf, golf is a very challenging sport. There’s so much that goes into it on a weekly basis at tournaments. There’s so much that goes into it even away from tournaments and then the plans you have to make, which generally revolve around golf, even though you might be away from tournaments or outside of the season.

“So I think when you get those opportunities, when you find yourself in those positions, I think being true to your journey, being true to what the game requires, I think brings out certainly a different side of myself, a different side, I guess, of the competitiveness.

“For me it’s being true to the game, being true to the process, being true to the challenge, and the journey that gets you to this point, which I guess kind of reflects in maybe what you mentioned there at the PGA.” 

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