Talk about bad luck.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who tested positive for COVID-19 last month — which prompted his removal from a PGA tournament he was leading — has tested positive again and will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics, the Spanish Olympic Committee announced on Sunday.
And American Bryson DeChambeau will also miss the games after testing positive for the virus.
“I am deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA,” DeChambeau said in a statement. “Representing my country means the world to me and it is was a tremendous honor to make this team. I wish Team USA the best of luck next week in Tokyo. I will now focus on getting healthy, and I look forward to returning to competition once I am cleared to do so.”
The U.S. team replaced DeChambeau with Patrick Reed, who is set to undergo testing Sunday and Monday before heading to Tokyo, joining Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Xander Schauffele on the four-man U.S team. The first round of the men’s tournament at the Kasumigaseki Country Club is set for Thursday.
Rahm was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament, hosted by golf legend Jack Nicklaus, on June 5 after he tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, Rahm was leading the tournament by six strokes, a lead that often holds up with just 18 holes left to play on the final day. The winner’s share of the purse was $1,674,000.
“I’m very disappointed in having to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter last month. “This is one of those things that happens in life, one of those moments where how we respond to a setback defines us as people. I’m very thankful that my family and I are all OK.”
The PGA Tour said Rahm was “placed in contact tracing protocols on Monday after officials learned he had been in close contact with someone who was Covid-19 positive,” CNN reported. “Rahm elected to remain in the tournament and undergo daily testing and have restricted access to indoor facilities at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.”
Rahm never had any symptoms and was clearly not affected physically, and he bested other top players like Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, and Bryson DeChambeau.
Another prominent golfer took issue with the way Rahm was informed. “Something we can all agree on is that telling Rahm the news by the green in front of everyone and on camera was a bad move,” former collegiate golfer turned sports media personality Paige Spiranac wrote on Twitter. “They could have gone up to him and said ‘please put on mask now and don’t touch anyone we have news to tell you inside.'”