The Players Championship has lost one of its leading favourites after Jon Rahm withdrew from contention on Friday due to illness.
World No. 1 Rahm, 28, opened his tournament with a one-under-par 71 on Thursday but did not return for Friday's leg. A stomach virus was cited as the Spaniard's reason for withdrawing, which was confirmed less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off.
Playing partners Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy —the respective No. 2 and No. 3 in the world rankings—were left to head out on Friday as a two-man pairing. Both stars will have a chance to reclaim the top spot depending on their results at TPC Sawgrass, having each opened at four-under and four-over, respectively.
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The top three players in the world unsurprisingly led with the bookmakers to clinch victory at The Players, which was once the most lucrative golf tournament in the world. The competition was named as one of the PGA Tour 's 'designated events' for 2023, offering an inflated prize purse of almost £21million, which is still the biggest pot on the Tour.
While Rahm's putting showed shades of inaccuracy on Thursday, there was enough to suggest he could still have been in contention with a strong follow-up in the remaining rounds. However, he informed McIlroy on the range close to tee time that he wouldn't be able to compete.
The Arizona State alumnus has been in hot form so far this year and finished top of the leaderboard in half of his last 10 starts. That includes wins at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, American Express and Genesis Invitational last month.
Without Rahm in the running, a top-five finish could be enough for Scheffler to emerge from this weekend back at No. 1. However, that will all depend on whether McIlroy can rediscover his rhythm in the coming days.
The Northern Irishman won The Players in 2019 but has struggled for consistency this year tying for a respective 32nd and 29th at the Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational in February. He recently overcame a two-over opening round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to finish joint-second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he missed out by a single stroke.
Rahm could target a return to action at the WGC-Match Play in Austin, Texas, which gets underway on March 22.
