Jon Rahm forced to withdraw from Memorial Tournament with 6-shot lead due to positive COVID-19 test

• Jon Rahm played a sensational round of golf on Saturday to take a dominant six-stroke lead at the Memorial Tournament.
• As he walked off the 18th green, Rahm was told he had tested positive for COVID-19, and would be forced to withdraw from the tournament.
• Rahm will miss out on the chance to snag his sixth PGA Tour win, as well as a potential $1.6 million payday.

Jon Rahm played a dream round at the Memorial Tournament on Saturday, only to have it end in a nightmare.

In the third round, Rahm played near-perfect golf, building a six-stroke lead on the field heading into Sunday's final round, where he had hoped to defend his title as the reigning champion of the tournament.

But Rahm's quest to repeat was cut short as he walked off the 18th green and was informed by officials he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be forced to withdraw from the tournament.

Rahm was visibly upset after receiving the news.

-Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 5, 2021

In a statement, the PGA Tour further explained the process by which Rahm was tested and subsequently removed from the tournament.

Ahead of the tournament, Rahm had come in close contact with a person who had tested positive for COVID-19, and was placed into the Tour's tracing protocol. Rahm tested negative every day heading into the tournament, but had a test taken between his second and third round on Saturday come back positive. A confirmatory test was run on the original sample, which also came back positive just as Rahm was about to finish his round.

In accordance with Tour protocols, Rahm was removed from the field.

The turn of events is especially heartbreaking because of how dominant Rahm had looked on Saturday, including hitting a hole-in-one as he completed his rain-delayed second round, and an eight-under 64 in the third round to put himself far ahead of the field.

Leading the next closest player by six strokes, Rahm could have played relatively safe golf on Sunday and likely cruised to the sixth PGA Tour victory of his career, and a $1.6 million payday. Instead, Rahm will miss out on his chance for the win, and the winner's share of the purse.

With Rahm out of the tournament, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa now share the lead at Muirfield Village, with the final round Sunday set to determine a champion.