Jon Rahm was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament Saturday evening, after testing positive for COVID-19. Rahm, the defending champion, was six shots clear of the field through 54 holes and had just finished an 8-under 64 in Round 3.
The Tour released a statement regarding the situation and further explained it to the media, which GolfChannel.com senior writer Rex Hoggard details here.
Tournament host Jack Nicklaus weighed in on Twitter with his thoughts.
I feel very bad for Jon Rahm. He’s played absolutely brilliant golf this week. Jon knew as early as Monday that he had come in close contact with an individual who tested COVID positive, and he followed all PGA TOUR protocols as it relates to contact tracing.
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) June 5, 2021
He tested negative throughout the week, but unfortunately tested positive today.
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) June 5, 2021
There was no choice for the TOUR or Jon. On behalf of the Memorial Tournament, our hearts go out to Jon and his family, as well as all the patrons who witnessed a spectacular round by Jon—only to be negated by this horrible pandemic our world continues to endure.
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) June 5, 2021
I wish Jon a speedy recovery and hope he gets back to competition soon.
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) June 5, 2021
