Jon Rahm finished the third round of the PGA Tour’s Memorial event with a six-stroke lead, but he won’t get the chance to finish the tournament after a positive coronavirus test forced him to withdraw from the event.
The shocking news came on Saturday after Rahm blew away the field with a blistering 64 in the third round to finish the day at -12. But just after he finished up, word broke that he would have to withdraw from play, ceding the leaderboard to the rest of the field.
Rahm showing everyone taillights pic.twitter.com/Dv5b1seu4b
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) June 5, 2021
The moment was actually caught on CBS, as Tour officials came over to Rahm after he finished his day and informed him of the positive test.
Surreal TV moment as six-stroke leader Jon Rahm learns he tested positive for COVID and Jim Nantz tries to make sense of it without knowing what Rahm’s been told pic.twitter.com/WvD6LmAlxs
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 5, 2021
Jim Nantz struggled to understand just what exactly was happening, especially given how Rahm basically doubled over upon learning he wouldn’t win $1.6 million for his outing this weekend.
But the PGA soon put out a statement explaining that Rahm had undergone testing after exposure to someone who also had COVID-19.
PGA TOUR Statement on Jon Rahm pic.twitter.com/HvMmWLCHeq
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 5, 2021
The statement touted the Tour’s coronavirus guidelines and the few positive tests they’ve had in their return to play, but it’s a shocking result for the Memorial to see its leader suddenly removed from the tournament. At this point in the pandemic, with millions of people vaccinated and cases thankfully starting to taper off, it’s remarkable to see someone receive word of a positive result on national TV after a trophy-worthy outing on the course.