Rahm had to take four PCR tests in the United Kingdom before coming to Tokyo. He failed three consecutive tests.
It’s deja vu all over again for Jon Rahm.
The Spanish golfer, World No. 1 and 2021 U.S. Open champion will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
Rahm, who finished tied for third in the British Open last week, had to take four PCR tests in the United Kingdom before coming to Tokyo. He failed three consecutive tests, the Spanish Olympic Committee confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
Testing positive had been Rahm’s kryptonite. He won the U.S. Open just 15 days after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament ahead of the final round despite holding a commanding six-stroke lead. Ahead of the U.S. Open he said of coronavirus, “I’ve got it all. I had it, I got the antibodies, got the vaccination. I feel invincible at this point.”
The Spanish Olympic Committee said, via the International Golf Federation, that they could not get a replacement for Rahm due to inadequate “time to find a replacement and comply with the necessary health protocols required for the Tokyo Olympics.” Adri Arnaus will be Spain’s only representative in the men’s golf competition, which is scheduled to begin Thursday.
Speaking in May, Rahm commented on his desire to represent his country in the Olympics despite what he termed the “inconveniences” involved in competing.
“I’ve been able to win championships representing Spain as an amateur in almost every imaginable level, and to bring back the gold medal would be something amazing…It’s an absolute dream of mine to be an Olympian.”
Rahm said he had mild symptoms of the coronavirus when he previously tested positive. He had to quarantine ahead of the U.S. Open. At the time of his original positive test, he tweeted out, “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. I will take all of the necessary precautions to be safe and healthy, and I look forward to returning to the golf course as soon as possible.”
Ahead of winning his first major, Rahm said he was vaccinated the Monday before the June 3-6 Memorial and regretted waiting to get vaccinated.
“Looking back on it, yeah, I guess I wish I would have done it earlier, but thinking on scheduling purposes and having the PGA and defending Memorial, I was just – to be honest, it wasn’t in my mind,” Rahm said at the time. “I’m not going to lie; I was trying to just get ready for a golf tournament. If I had done it in a few days earlier, probably we wouldn’t be having these conversations right now. It is what it is. We move on.”
Less than six hours earlier, American Bryson DeChambeau also tested positive and was replaced on Team USA by Patrick Reed, who had been third in line to be a replacement, behind Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka.
Contributing: Jim Reineking, Alex Ptachick, USA TODAY.
Since they first met 17 years ago, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners have conquered the golf world together.
Since they first met 17 years ago, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners have conquered the golf world together.
They dominated the Canadian Junior Golf circuit together.
They starred at Kent State together.
They’re currently tearing up the PGA Tour together.
From July 29-August 1 they’ll represent Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games — together.
As the two top-ranked Canadians, Hughes and Conners will be among the field of 60 players competing for gold during the 72-hole event held at East Course of the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama.
“All the steps that we’ve taken though junior golf, amateur golf, our collegiate days at Kent State, our young professional days, we’ve taken all of those steps together and had very similar trajectories and paths,” said Hughes, who spoke by phone two days after earning $386,500 for finishing in a tie for sixth place at the 2021 British Open on Sunday. “It’s been a wild ride, and I think there’s a lot more to the journey, but representing Canada at the Olympics is definitely one of the pinnacles for us. To be doing this together is kind of unthinkable really.
“To think that we’d ever be competing for an Olympic team and be the two best male professional golfers in Canada … it would have been hard to think of those things years ago when we first met.”
[listicle id=778112022]
Hughes and Conners have already made the vast majority of their golf dreams come true. They starred on the best team in Kent State men’s golf history, the 2012 squad that finished fifth in the nation. They’ve both won on the PGA Tour. Conners and Hughes are currently 36th and 53rd, respectively, in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Competing in the Olympics wasn’t a dream growing up, because it wasn’t a possibility. After George Lyon — ironically enough from Canada — earned the gold medal in 1904, golf was left out of the Olympic Games until 2016.
“I never thought about playing in the Olympics as a kid because golf wasn’t included. But I was a huge sports fan and always loved watching the Olympics, and knew how special it was to be an Olympian,” said Conners, who wound up 15th but was in contention midway through the final round at last weekend’s British Open. “When golf was reintroduced it definitely was a goal of mine to be able to represent Canada.”
Both Conners and Hughes were surging as professionals during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“I got my PGA Tour card for the first time that fall, but I just missed out on qualifying [for the Olympics],” said Hughes. “I’ve thought about it since then, wanted to be part of that when it came around again. It’s not something that golfers have traditionally looked forward to throughout their careers, because it wasn’t there before. It is very neat that it’s something we can aspire to now and chase. I’m certainly very honored to be an Olympian. It’s going to be very exciting to get over there.”
Conners and Hughes have earned the right to represent their native country at the Olympics during a strong era in Canadian golf. Nine Canada natives are currently competing on the PGA Tour — including Taylor Pendrith, another star on that stellar 2012 Flashes squad, who will be a full-time PGA Tour member next season.
Both Conners and Hughes are from Ontario. They grew up about about 90 minutes apart and were both lured to Kent State by legendary golf coach Herb Page — who is also from Ontario.
Hughes, a four-time All-Mid-American Conference performer and medalist at the 2011 MAC Championship, was a senior on that 2012 Kent State team. He won his first professional tournament while competing on the PGA Tour Canada the following year, then claimed his PGA Tour card after capturing the Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship in August of 2016.
Corey Conners celebrates after a hole-in-one on the sixth hole during the third round of the 2021 Masters Tournament on Saturday, April 10, 2021, in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)
Three months later, in just his fifth PGA Tour start, Hughes emerged from a five-man playoff to win the RSM Classic. Since then he’s recorded three top-three finishes and two top-15s in majors. After recording the highest major tournament finish of his career last weekend, Hughes’ career earnings rest at $7.3 million. He’s made $1.72 million this season and is currently 61st in the FedExCup rankings.
Conners, a two-time All-American and two-time MAC Player of the Year, was a sophomore on that legendary 2012 Kent State squad that won five tournaments. He was a conditional member of the PGA Tour in April of 2019, when Conners won a Monday qualifier for the Valero Texas Open by draining a 30-foot birdie putt to wedge his way into a six-man playoff for one spot — which he claimed. Six days later Conners secured his first professional victory, stunning the golf world by becoming the first Monday qualifier to capture a PGA Tour event since 2010.
Conners then recorded 10 top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2019-20 and has now placed among the top 10 in the past two Masters along with a seventh-place effort at The Players Championship last March. He is currently 28th in the FedExCup rankings with over $3.4 million in earnings this season and has made over $8.7 million on the PGA Tour overall.
“What these guys have accomplished is just mind-boggling,” said Page. “Every step of the way they’ve just gotten better and better and better, and now they’re world-class. And they’re very humble. They haven’t changed since they left Kent State. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Hughes and Conners share many similarities. They both stand 6-foot and were born about 15 months apart (Hughes is 30 years old, Conners 29). They’re both sponsored by Titleist. They’re devoted ice hockey fans who cheer on the Toronto Maple Leafs together. They’ve become loyal friends since their junior golf days — former teenage rivals who stood up in each other’s weddings as young adults.
They share a mutual love for Canada and Kent State.
“When we play on the PGA Tour week in and week out we feel that we’re representing Canada and carrying the flag,” said Hughes. “When Corey and I were playing well last week in the [Open] you could feel that sense of pride for Canada. You know everyone in Canada is pulling for you. Just like Canada, we represent Kent State with the same passion and pride. Without Herb and his guidance through that program, I’m not here today. I will always be indebted to that program. It’s going to be cool to have two Golden Flashes playing for Canada in the Olympics.”
Mackenzie Hughes reacts as he follows his shot from the second tee during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Hughes and Conners still spend time together on and off the course whenever their hectic schedules allow it. They’ve shared countless laughs and consumed many adult beverages together over the years, the tastiest being the cold beer Hughes presented to Conners after he walked off the 18th green following his victory in Texas.
If things go well in Japan, maybe they’ll be sipping celebratory sake together after the 72nd hole of the Tokyo Olympic Games. And things could indeed go very well for Hughes and Conners, both of whom will arrive in Japan this week brimming with confidence.
“Between the two of us we give Canada a very good chance to compete for a medal, and that’s our intent,” said Hughes. “We’re going over there to try to be on that podium. I wouldn’t consider anything else a success really. We’re over there to compete for a medal, and I like both of our chances.”
“My goal for Japan is to give myself a chance for a medal,” echoed Conners. “I have plenty of confidence in my game and will be feeling lots of support from the fans back home. It would be awesome to be standing on that podium with Mac.”
While the rest of the LPGA chased Jeongeun Lee6’s at the Amundi Evian Championship, Gaby Lopez enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime walk in Tokyo.
While the rest of the LPGA chased Jeongeun Lee6’s historic run at the Amundi Evian Championship in France, Gaby Lopez enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime walk in Tokyo.
Lopez carried the flag for the Mexican delegation during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. She told Golf Channel back in January that the president of the Mexican Olympic Committee first approached her about the possibility after she won the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
The 27-year-old Arkansas grad is a two-time winner on the LPGA and is ranked 61st in the world.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to represent my country in women’s golf in Mexico, which isn’t a huge sport,” Lopez told Golf Channel’s Amy Rogers. “To just inspire little girls and [for them to] see what a golfer and little girl can do to achieve their dreams, that’s going to be why I play golf and that’s what it means to me and my life and my career.”
Julieta Granada was the flagbearer for Paraguay at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Inbee Park, the LPGA Hall of Famer and 2016 gold-medal winner, was one of the final Olympic torchbearers during the Opening Ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Patriotism is an easy thing to embrace in a lot of places, but not so much in Northern Ireland.
Patriotism is an easy thing to embrace in a lot of places, but not so much in Northern Ireland. Half the population identifies as British, half as Irish, and that conflict has taken thousands of lives over the years.
Rory McIlroy is of the first generation to grow up in Northern Ireland largely post conflict. So the idea that he has no nationalistic sentiments whatsoever is something that ought to be celebrated, not condemned, because a generation that isn’t motivated by warped and expedient ideas of patriotism is at least an improvement on the generations who were, and perhaps still are, hostage to it.
The latest episode of Eamon’s Corner can be watched above.
A new quarantine rule for those entering the U.K. from France went into effect on Monday.
England’s Mel Reid has withdrawn from the Amundi Evian Championship, citing new travel restrictions that could prevent her from competing in the Tokyo Olympics. She has been replaced in the field by Alena Sharp.
On Friday, the U.K. announced that those entering the U.K. from France will have quarantine for 10 days, even if fully vaccinated against COVID-19, amid concerns of the Beta variant. The new rule went into effect on Monday.
“Incredibly disappointed to withdraw from The Evian Championship this year due to the recently implemented travel rules that prevent re-entry into the U.K. from Franee in time for the team’s Olympic departure,” Reid wrote on Instagram. “I’ve worked relentlessly with my team and the LPGA to find a way to compete in both but unfortunately at this point there are no assurances on firm solutions and the risk of missing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete as an Olympian is simply too high.
“I can’t wait to return to Evian in many years to come and want to thank the tournament team for their understanding.”
Reid tied for 12th at last week’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with partner Carlota Ciganda.
“I’m trying to find the right words, but I can’t find them,” Molinari wrote on social media.
The teary-eyed emoji was a dead giveaway – even before using Google Translate – that 2018 British Open champion Francesco Molinari was dropping some bad news on social media Sunday afternoon.
The 38-year-old Italian, who was set to represent his country along with Guido Migliozzi in Tokyo, announced via Twitter that he was forced to withdraw from the Olympics due to a back injury.
“I’m trying to find the right words, but I can’t find them,” Molinari wrote. “I have a back problem that has held me back for most of the season and now unfortunately prevents me from representing my country in the most important sporting event in the world.
“I will cheer for all the Italian athletes hoping to be able to participate in the Olympics in the future.”
Molinari missed the cut by one stroke at the British Open at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England last week.
In an email to Golfweek, he wrote, “Regarding my back it’s something I struggled with this year at Wells Fargo (in May) for the first time and then forced me to withdraw from Kiawah (PGA Championship) and Memorial. Unfortunately after missing the cut at the Open on waking up Saturday it was sore again.”
Molinari explained that he’s suffering from lower back pain, primarily on the right side, which will prevent him from competing in the men’s competition beginning on July 29. Italy’s Renato Paratore, 24, who won 2020 Betfred British Masters, is listed as Molinari’s replacement on the International Golf Federation web site.
Molinari is out indefinitely but hopes to return to action next month.
“I’m seeing a physiotherapist here in London, going by last time it happened I hope to be fit to play the Wyndham (Championship) and make a last push for a Ryder Cup spot, but I recognize that’s going to be very hard now.”
Molinari partnered with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (Team Moliwood) and went undefeated in four matches together in France in 2018. The Italian also won his singles match to lead Europe to victory and earn Ryder Cup hero status. Molinari held the lead on the back nine Sunday at the 2019 Masters before a series of blunders. He has since plummeted from No. 6 in the world in July 2019 to No. 146 entering this week.
Two years ago, it was almost unfathomable to think that he wouldn’t make the next team, but his back injury may be the final nail in the coffin for his chances to grab the attention of European team captain Padraig Harrington.
Anne van Dam’s putting had become such a point of frustration that she closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Seriously.
Anne van Dam’s putting had become such a point of frustration that she actually thought about taking a break from the LPGA. Something drastic needed to be done, so she closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Seriously.
“I just started hitting some putts with my eyes closed,” said van Dam, “and just felt way more comfortable.”
The 25-year-old Dutch player ran into Suzann Pettersen this week at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, and they talked about the unusual practice. Pettersen told van Dam about the time she closed her eyes and won six tournaments.
“At one point it just gets really mental,” said van Dam. “If you can’t see what you’re doing, you just trust your inner instincts.
This week van Dam has teamed up with longtime best friend Sophia Popov for the Dow team event. She had a handful of important putts in Wednesday’s opening alternate shot format and made them all dead center – eyes closed.
Known for having one of the most enviable swings in golf, van Dam ranked first on the LPGA in driving distance at 292 yards but 156th in putting average and 137th in putts per greens in regulation.
“I had multiple rounds in a row where I hardly missed a fairway or hardly missed a green and was three-putting from 10 to 15 feet,” said van Dam. “At one point you just kind of feel hopeless. You don’t really know where to go.”
She missed them in all sorts of ways – long, short, left, right. It wasn’t the yips, she said. More like a negative spiral of thoughts that began with venues earlier in the year that featured poa annua greens.
What started out as a drill blended into competition, and the fix came just in time for a run of big events. Van Dam will become the first Dutch golfer to compete in the Olympics next month. She actually qualified for the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil but was unable to compete because she wasn’t ranked inside the top 100 in the world at the time, which is an additional requirement from the Netherlands National Olympics Committee.
Van Dam, a five-time winner on the LPGA, thought the same might happen again this year after she dipped to No. 145 in the world. She was actually inside the top 100 for the original cutoff before the Tokyo Olympics was postponed to 2021.
The Netherlands made an exception for van Dam this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They’re only sending athletes that have a good chance of finishing in the top six,” she said.
That’s easier to determine in other sports, of course. Popov won the AIG Women’s British Open last year when she was ranked outside to the top 300 in the world.
“Obviously for golf,” said van Dam, “it’s a hard decision to say when do you have a good chance.”
A positive-sounding van Dam views this recent dip in her career as part of the process. If everything always came easy, she said, it could get a little boring. She looks at the downtimes of a Jordan Spieth or a Rickie Fowler missing out on majors and knows that struggles come to everyone.
“My game is way too good to play like that,” she said.
