2021 Memorial Tournament: Jon Rahm Forced to WD with COVID-19

On Friday, we talked about how important Saturday morning was to the chances of Jon Rahm at the 2021 Memorial Tournament. If you were paying attention early this morning, you saw Rahm make an ace on his way to grabbing the 36-hole lead.

Rahm played outstanding golf on Saturday in the third round, shooting an 8-under par round of 64, two shots better than anyone else in the field. He increased his lead from two shots after 36 holes to six shots through 54 holes and was prepared to become the first repeat winner at Jack Nicklaus’ event since Tiger Woods won three in a row from 1999-2001.

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Then, the golf gods struck. After finishing his round, Rahm was pulled aside by a PGA Tour official and informed that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

It was quite a blow for Rahm, who was a virtual lock to win his sixth PGA Tour event on Sunday. He could have easily shot something around even par and made his competitors come catch him.

On television, it was obvious that Rahm was devastated when he found out the news.

Rahm bent over in some combination of disbelief, exasperation and frustration. It was clear that this event was important to him and to have it basically stolen from him with just 18 holes to play was a brutal stroke of bad luck.

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This is perhaps the most visible COVID-19 moment that we have seen in the world of sports. While other players in other sports have missed time due to the virus or contact tracing, perhaps no one has had a more public notification of their COVID diagnosis than Rahm did on Saturday. He was literally walking from the 18th green when he was notified of his diagnosis and of the fact that he would be forced to withdraw.

Rahm is the victim of bad timing and a tough diagnosis. It ends up costing him a big payday and a sixth PGA Tour title.

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