World No. 1 Jon Rahm withdraws from the Players Championship before second round

Rahm opened with a 1-under 71 on Thursday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — World No. 1 Jon Rahm withdrew from the Players Championship citing stomach illness ahead of the second round.

Rahm, 28, has been on an absolute tear this year, winning three times in his seven starts on the PGA Tour and rising to World No. 1 with a victory at the Genesis Invitational last month. Last week, the Spaniard had his worst result of the season finishing T-39 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, his first finish outside the top 8 since the Tour Championship in August.

Rahm opened with a 1-under 71 on Thursday at TPC Stadium Course. He warmed up on Friday but determined he was unable to go ahead of his scheduled 12:56 p.m. ET tee time alongside No. 2-ranked Scottie Scheffler and No. 3 Rory Mcilroy. There are scenarios based on their finishes where both Scheffler and McIlroy can supplant Rahm as World No. 1.

It also marks the end of Rahm’s Tour-leading streak of making the 36-hole cut at 25 events, dating to the Fortinet Championship in September 2021. Xander Schauffele, who posted a 36-hole aggregate of 1-over 145, is in line to make his 19th straight cut and take over the lead for the longest streak.

Rahm previously withdrew just once in his career when he was the 54-hole leader of the Memorial but was forced to pull out after testing positive with COVID-19.

 

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