Jon Rahm Returns to the Memorial After Last Year's Bizarre COVID-19 WD

The Spaniard was cruising toward a second straight win at Muirfield Village before a positive test result. But a year later, there's no hard feelings.

Jon Rahm might be excused if he returned to Muirfield Village Golf Club with at the very least a tinge of annoyance.

His withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament last year due to a positive COVID-19 test while leading the tournament by six shots was a shocking turn of events during a year in which the PGA Tour mostly escaped the worst during the pandemic.

But Rahm said Tuesday there was no such ill will. He had won the same tournament a year earlier, of course, and then went on to win the U.S. Open two weeks after his COVID issues in Dublin, Ohio.

“Not going to lie, it was nice to be able to walk into the clubhouse this time and enjoy the little area they have, the Champions Locker Room,’’ Rahm said during a news conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club, where the tournament begins Thursday.

“So that was fun. A few flashbacks here and there. Besides that, it’s all good vibes. It’s a golf course that I enjoy. It’s a golf course that I like and I’m comfortable on, so hopefully I can do it a third year and keep playing good golf or give myself a chance on Sunday.’’

The circumstances a year are considerably different than they were at the Memorial in 2021, despite a high level of the coronavirus still existing, as Rahm noted. Now, PGA Tour players are not tested. At the Memorial a year ago, players were only tested if they had yet to receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Rahm, unbeknownst to those outside of the PGA Tour, was in a different situation. He had a “close contact’’ with someone who had tested positive. That meant Rahm had to be tested daily and was not allowed inside the clubhouse.

Each day, Rahm returned a negative test. But his Saturday test – taken following the completion of the weather-delayed second round and before the beginning of the third – came back positive while he was finishing up as the 54-hole leader with a six-shot advantage.

The only recourse was for him to withdraw; Patrick Cantlay won a day later after a playoff with Collin Morikawa.

“Yes, I walked off the course, I was told I couldn't play, and I was mad for about 10 minutes,’’ Rahm said. “I allowed myself to be upset. But instantly I flipped and called my wife and I made sure that she was OK and my son was OK.

“Once I knew they were OK, I was in my little trailer, that little COVID hut we had, and me and my caddie were laughing. We ordered milkshakes and we were laughing at the funny part of everything, right. I mean, the fact that that happened; that I had a six-shot lead and it's gone, I can't even play. The irony of it all kind of made us laugh.

“But at that moment, I chose to just remember how good I had played. I had played really good golf all last season but it was the first time everything was clicking, and that was right before the thick of the season.

“So I felt nothing but comfortable and confident for the summer. And really, I didn't let it slow me down and I played great golf the rest of the summer up to the Ryder Cup. I chose to just stay in the positive of things.’’

Rahm has six consecutive top 10s following his Memorial withdrawal, including the win at the U.S. Open and a tie for third at the British Open. He got hit with COVID-19 again, however, during that stretch forcing him to miss the Olympic golf tournament.

A recent victory at the Mexico Open was his 14th worldwide win, including six on the PGA Tour. But he’s coming off a tie for 48th at the PGA Championship after not contending at the Masters.

“Any given day things can get going very, very fast and have a really, really good stretch,’’ Rahm said. “So I’m not worried. I wouldn’t say I’m at a lower level than I was last year. I think I’m more comfortable than I was last year. It’s just things haven’t really happened yet but I’m playing good golf and I’m confident.’’