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Could Battles with COVID-19 Lead to Jon Rahm Winning FedEx Cup?

By Tim Letcher

Spain's Jon Rahm tees off on the 12th during his second round on day 2 of The 149th British Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's, Sandwich in south-east England on July 16, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Spain's Jon Rahm tees off on the 12th during his second round on day 2 of The 149th British Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's, Sandwich in south-east England on July 16, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The 2020-21 PGA Tour season has been one of extreme highs and lows for Jon Rahm. He has literally seen the best and the worst that the world of golf has to offer, all within the same year. That includes a couple of battles with COVID-19 that may ultimately lead him to the FedEx Cup.

Rahm, the world’s top-ranked player, earned his first major championship title by winning the U.S. Open in June. The win is the only one that Rahm has this season but he has been very close on multiple occasions.

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Rahm has finished inside the Top 10 in 12 of his 19 starts this season. That includes his U.S. Open win, along with a runner-up finish at the Zozo Championship and a T3 at the Open Championship. But there could have been more.

Take the Memorial Tournament, for example. Rahm had a commanding lead through three rounds, but was forced to withdraw after a positive test for COVID-19. There’s very little doubt that Rahm would have won at Muirfield Village on Sunday.

Speaking of Rahm’s battle with Covid, it may have been exactly what the doctor ordered (pun intended) to make Rahm the favorite to win the FedEx Cup. How, exactly, is that possible?

There are two factors to consider.

One, keep in mind that Rahm became a first-time father this season. His two bouts with Covid that caused him to miss time allowed him to spend more time with his first child. As Rahm said on Saturday after the third round of the Northern Trust, “I think those weeks off were good for me mentally and for my soul as a father.”

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The other thing to consider is the actual time off that Rahm got due to Covid diagnoses. After the Memorial, he had a week off before he won the U.S. Open. He was mentally, and physically, motivated to win at Torrey Pines.

The rest he got by not going to the Olympics is now paying dividends for Rahm as the FedEx Cup playoffs have begun. It could very well be that Rahm’s battles with Covid could lead to his first FedEx Cup.

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