Not only has Jon Rahm made his case for earning PGA Tour Player of the Year honors – the three-week FedEx Cup playoffs which begin Thursday at the Northern Trust in the shadow of Manhattan’s skyline will likely decide whether he or Collin Morikawa wins the award – Rahm may have had the most curious season as well.
Rahm tested positive for COVID-19 twice in the midst of his best season and both instances had a profound effect on the arc of his year.
The first positive test came on Saturday of the Memorial Tournament when he held a six-stroke lead with 18 holes remaining. Rahm had the virus that time with enough minor symptoms for him to be sure.
Still, being so close to a win and having it vanish suddenly was like a gut punch.
“I wanted to hopefully give Spain a medal. I was wishing for a gold medal, but just being part of that medal count for the country would have been huge. … Still makes me a little sad, I’m not going to lie.” – Jon Rahm
The second time was a shocker, denying Rahm a chance to play for Spain in the Olympics. Even now, Rahm isn’t sure what happened after a series of negative test results had him set for Tokyo only to be denied at the last minute.
“This was a little harder to digest than Memorial because I’ve done everything the system tells me to do. I got all my negatives. First one on Thursday negative, Friday negative, Saturday I get my first positive. And then they tested me again that same day, and I apparently was positive again,” Rahm said Tuesday in his first media session since missing the Olympics.
“Then I got tested the next two days. One was the saliva test, one was PCR, both negative. Got an antibody test done, so blood test, and I had the antibodies.
“So it’s unfortunate, and I understand it’s a weird case because I tested negative so quickly and tested negative and tested negative all throughout the UK, and I get here and the test is positive. It really is unfortunate. It sucked because I wanted to represent Spain. I wanted to play that one. I wanted to hopefully give Spain a medal. I was wishing for a gold medal, but just being part of that medal count for the country would have been huge. It was more devastating in that sense. I was more in the mindset of playing for them more than me.
“Still makes me a little sad, I’m not going to lie.”
After Rahm’s forced withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament, he had to quarantine for 10 days – just as his parents were arriving from Spain to see their new grandson for the first time.
He came through that unanticipated detour and immediately won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, validating the sense something good was going to happen, a feeling he shared with those close to him several times prior to his first major championship victory.
In his only start since winning the U.S. Open, Rahm finished tied for third in the Open Championship. When the Olympics opportunity fell through, Rahm decided to take a full month off, returning for the playoffs and the Ryder Cup which looms next month while trying to remain philosophical about what he’s endured.
“Hopefully, I don’t have to deal with any of that ever again COVID-related and I can just keep playing golf and doing what I love and contend for tournaments,” Rahm said.
“But at the same time, like I’ve said, it’s a reminder of the times we live in. It is a serious disease. The consequences can be big, and I know – not firsthand, but I know people who have been close to me to suffer them. That’s why I don’t take it lightly, and that’s why every day I’m still thankful that, even then when I had it, everyone around me in my family was okay and didn’t get it.”
At this late point in the PGA Tour season, five players have won twice – Stewart Cink, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Jason Kokrak – while Rahm has just one victory, though eventual Memorial winner Patrick Cantlay conceded Rahm would likely have won had he played the final round.
Is one victory enough to earn Rahm Player of the Year honors?
It might be.
While Morikawa also has a World Golf Championship victory this season, Rahm’s overall performance has been exceptional. In 19 starts, he has one win, one second and one third-place finish as well as a tour-best 12 top-10s.
In the major championships in 2021, Rahm finished T5 at the Masters, T8 at the PGA Championship, a win and T3. Throw in a T9 at the Players Championship and he’s 5-for-5 with top-10 finishes.
Morikawa’s major championship record this year is T18, T8, T4 and a win. He also ranks first on tour in strokes gained tee to green with Rahm second.
A hot run by DeChambeau in the playoffs could make it a three-player race but his failure to finish in the top 25 of any major championship this year along with his public relations issues leave him a distant third at the moment.
Asked Tuesday about his place in the player-of-the-year race (a vote of his peers), Rahm said he hasn’t considered it. The subject is sure to be raised as the playoffs unfold at Liberty National then next week at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley and finally at the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake.
“Hopefully, I can have a good playoffs and state my case,” Rahm said.