Jon Rahm heartbreakingly forced to withdraw from 2023 The Players due to illness

Jon Rahm has officially withdrawn from The Players Championship ahead of his second round tee time, the PGA announced on Friday.

The No. 1 player in the world will miss the remainder of play due to illness.

It’s a stunning and unfortunate turn of events for one of the most popular and successful golfers on Tour this year made even more heartbreaking by what’s up for grabs at the event.

The $25 million purse at The Players is the largest of any tournament and Rahm was considered likely to claim the $4.5 million winner’s share. He’s still seeking his first victory at TPC Sawgrass with his best finish coming via T9 in 2021.

After shooting a first round 71 on Thursday, Rahm certainly had work to do to get back in contention, but the Spaniard has been known to go on runs later in the weekend and rocket up the leaderboard. Now he won’t get the chance.

It’s the second notable time Rahm has been forced to withdraw due to illness at a major tournament. In 2021 he was leading The Memorial by six shots when a positive test for COVID-19 forced him to withdraw after the third round.

Massive news 30 minutes before he was set to tee off. Rahm accounted for 16% of pre-tournament bets and handle @DKSportsbook. https://t.co/Fm11ISlwSR

— Golfbet (@Golfbet) March 10, 2023

Rahm’s absence will now open up a wide open field even further and take away one of the betting favorites on the weekend. At DraftKings, 16 percent of all bets had Rahm (+750) winning the event, which also accounted for 16 percent of the money wagered.

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and a return to play in the near future for the sport’s No. 1 player.