Jon Rahm withdraws from the Players Championship due to illness

Tim Walters, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
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John Rahm chips from the sand to the pin on hole 12 during first round action of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Thursday, March 9, 2023.
John Rahm chips from the sand to the pin on hole 12 during first round action of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Thursday, March 9, 2023.
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH — World No. 1 Jon Rahm withdrew from the 2023 Players Championship citing stomach illness.

Rahm has been on a 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, he had his worst result of the season when he finished tied for 39th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

Rahm opened with a 1-under 71 on Thursday at TPC Stadium Course. He was scheduled to tee off along with No. 2-ranked Scottie Scheffler and No. 3 Rory Mcilroy at 12:56 p.m. ET. It is the second withdrawal of his career.

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Rahm previously withdrew just once in his career when he was the 54-hole leader of the Memorial but was forced to pull out due to a potential COVID-19 situation.

Rahm began 2023 by shooting a final-round 63 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to win by two shots ahead of Collin Morikawa.

Two weeks later, he won The American Express, shooting 27-under-par for four rounds to beat Davis Thompson by one shot.

Rahm finished third at the WM Phoenix Open on Feb. 12.

The week after, Rahm won the Genesis Invitational to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in the world.

Last week he tied for 39th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational shooting a 1-over-par 73.

Rahm will not be replaced because the tournament had already started.

In five prior Players Championships, Rahm made the cut all five times.

In 2022, he shot a 2-over 290 and tied for 55th.

His best finish came in 2021 when he tied for ninth.

Prior to the pandemic-canceled event in 2020, Rahm tied for 12th in 2019.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jon Rahm withdraws from the Players Championship Friday due to illness