Jon Rahm had the news broken to him that he had COVID-19 live on TV during a PGA tournament … one that he was leading the pack in before having to withdraw.
The Spanish golfer — and reigning champion of the Memorial Tournament, which he was again ahead in on Saturday — was filmed being approached by PGA officials … who told him he’d tested positive for the virus, which means he’d have to leave the premises and the game entirely.
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
@bubbaprog
It made for such a bizarre moment, as there were cameras all around on the course … and they captured the exact moment he learned about it, which left him looking defeated. Rahm covered his face and then crouched down in disappointment — before being led off.
The interaction was filmed from at least a couple different angles … and the second picked up on some audio as well. You can hear Rahm say something that sounds like “Not again” … seemingly suggesting he’s gone through this before during the pandemic.
Jon Rahm…with a 6 shot lead at Memorial…finds out AFTER HIS ROUND that he’s tested positive for COVID-19.
That means he has to withdraw. As the leader by 6…
Just unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/AqtqNA75kH
— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) June 5, 2021
@TJEckertKTUL
The CBS anchors who were covering it live had trouble making sense of what had just happened, but they knew some bad news had just been delivered. As Rahm made his way inside … his crew pushed away photogs who attempted to follow, presumably for privacy.
Big time bummer for the guy. Prior to the COVID notice, he was a good six strokes ahead of everyone else. Now, he’ll be scratched from play completely … and probably until he’s negative again.