Angry Rory McIlroy snaps at fan as Cam Smith returns to big time and Aaron Rai wins PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy snapped at a fan as his dream of back-to-back golf majors slipped away at the PGA Championship on Monday (AEST).

The Northern Ireland superstar was frustrated by a wicked bounce from a chip shot that landed in the bunker on the 16th hole at Aronimink Golf Club.

McIlroy then lashed out at a member of the crowd - who was reportedly chanting "U-S-A" - by telling him to "shut the f--- up."

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The dual Masters winner then appeared to demand that the fan be ejected from the course as he caught the attention of security and pointed his club at the offender.

McIlroy finished equal-seventh alongside Australia's Cam Smith.

The Queenslander went 2-under on his final round despite only finding the fairway with three of his 14 tee shots on non par threes.

"Hit a few wayward drives there on the back nine, but still had a few looks at birdie and just wasn't able to capitalise on the back nine," Smith said.

"A little bit frustrating with the putter today, but that's golf. It feels great to play nice. You don't work hard to play crap, and it's frustrating, and the last couple of years have been frustrating. I feel like I've been putting in the work and not really getting anything out of it."

Smith had missed the cuts at his last six majors and credited new swing coach Claude Harmon for his improvement.

He will pocket $892,900 for his week's work.

"We've just managed to clean up a few things that were perhaps a little bit off, and I feel like I've got a lot more confidence in my swing," the 2022 British Open champion said.

"Even out there today, under the pressure I felt like I was able to trust it already. So lots of positive signs. I feel like I've thrived in major championships my whole career. I feel like I've been able to play my best golf in major championships, and that kind of fell off.

"And like I mentioned before, I don't think it was from a lack of hard work. I just think you lose a little bit of confidence in your swing and maybe in your brain, and it can all happen so quickly. That's why I needed a fresh voice in the head and kind of almost a restart and like I said, it's felt good so far."

Aaron Rai became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the championship.

Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a boy, was three shots behind and approaching the turn when he delivered a performance worthy of a major champion.

He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch when he one-putted seven straight greens to take the lead.

And on the closing holes when the contenders needed him to stumble, Rai holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher.

The 31-year-old Rai, the first player of Indian heritage to win a major, closed with a 5-under 65.

Rai, who finished at 9-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.

He wound up winning by three shots over 54-hole leader Alex Smalley and Jon Rahm.

Rai, the world No.44, might not be well known among casual observers, but he is a star in the eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.

"You won't find one person on property who's not happy for him," McIlroy said.

"Super pumped for him and his team. All-world gentleman, no doubt," Xander Schauffele said.

He wears two gloves, a habit he started as a kid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing - and he was always practising.

Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic covers on each iron, a reminder of his roots.

He once said his father sacrificed to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil after his son was done playing.

Rai has left the iron covers on since then "to remember where I cam from and to respect what I have."

Now he has his name on the Wanamaker Trophy and his place in history.