DUBLIN, Ohio — The large gallery at the 18th green at Muirfield Village Golf Club had no way to know why Jon Rahm fell to his knees after two men spoke to him following his brilliant third round at the Memorial Tournament.
One of the men, Dr. Thomas Hospel, informed Rahm that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The 64 he’d just recorded and six-shot lead he would have taken into Sunday’s final round instantly became meaningless. PGA Tour rules meant he had to withdraw.
Andy Levinson, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of tournament administration, said in a ZOOM call that the decision to tell Rahm when and how it did was based on the timing of the test results.
“We received the initial positive results at 4:20 p.m.,” Levinson said. “Our medical advisor ordered a re-run of that test, of that original sample, and we were notified of that, I believe the exact time was 6:03 p.m. He was in the middle of the 18th fairway. I think he had already hit his second shot, and so our advisor notified him as soon as he finished.”
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
Levinson said Hospel delivered the news off the green because the scoring area for the Memorial is inside, which is less safe from COVID transmission.
“It’s an unfortunate situation and difficult to find an ideal opportunity to notify him,” Levinson said. “But our medical advisor notified him before he went into scoring and that was how it was conducted.
“I think the doctor notified him in a manner that he felt appropriate, prior to going into scoring.”
Rahm, wearing a mask, was transported by golf cart to his vehicle to exit Muirfield Village.
