Jon Rahm, the No. 1 golfer in the world, has withdrawn from the 2023 Players Championship citing a stomach illness. The announcement came just 20 minutes before his Round 2 grouping alongside world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and world No. 3 Rory McIlroy.
The Spaniard opened his Players Championship with a 71 and sat only seven strokes off pace of first-round leader Chad Ramey. Looking to position himself for a weekend run with a strong second round, Rahm will instead return home and get some rest as the PGA Tour schedule approaches major championship season.
Rahm entered the week having won three times already in 2023. He became the first person since Johnny Miller in 1975 to claim three titles before the calendar flipped to March. Rahm struggled for the first time all year last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he carded rounds of 65-76-76-72 en route to a T39 finish.
It is still unknown where Rahm will tee it up next, but conventional wisdom would suggest the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in two weeks. From there, Rahm will head to Augusta National for the 2023 Masters where he is likely to enter the championship as the tournament favorite.