PGA

Jon Rahm lamented not receiving the COVID-19 vaccination at an earlier date after he was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament.

Rahm finished up his third round and had a six-shot lead at Muirfield Village Golf Club when he was informed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would have to exit the tournament. He told reporters Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Open that identifying the ideal time to get vaccinated simply wasn't a top priority at the time:

Looking back on it, yeah, I guess I wish I would have done it earlier, but thinking on scheduling purposes and having the PGA and defending Memorial, I was just—to be honest, it wasn't in my mind. I'm not going to lie, I was trying to just get ready for a golf tournament. If I had done it a few days earlier, probably we wouldn't be having these conversations right now. It is what it is. We move on.

The 26-year-old added he knew he had been placed in the PGA Tour's COVID-19 contact-tracing protocols and that a positive test was a possibility. Because of that, he didn't take issue with the Tour's decision to pull him out of the Memorial altogether.

Those watching the tournament on television saw the moment Rahm was informed of the news. He spoke with a Tour official and doubled over before heading toward the clubhouse.

The cameras caught Rahm saying "not again," which he said was a reference to losing one stroke due to a rules violation at the 2020 Memorial.

"That's the second time I get put on the spot on national TV on the same golf course on the same hole," he said Tuesday. "For all those people wondering when I said, 'Not again,' that's exactly what I mean: Not again."

The U.S. Open is Rahm's first event since the Memorial.

His first career victory came at Torrey Pines in the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open. In general, he has thrived in Southern California.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists Rahm as the betting favorite (+1050) ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele at +1500.

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In just his second-ever tournament on the PGA Tour, 22-year-old Garrick Higgo picked up his first victory, claiming the Palmetto Championship at Congaree following a late collapse by Chesson Hadley.

The South African native rallied back after tying for 64th at the PGA Championship to finish 11 under par at South Carolina's Congaree Golf Club, fighting off valiant efforts from Bo Van Pelt, Dustin Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas to take the title.

Of course, that wouldn't have been possible without some help from Hesson. Higgo began the day in third place behind Hesson, who held a four-stroke lead after sitting in first-place from Friday night to late Sunday afternoon.

That streak came to a gutting end as Hesson—seeking his first PGA victory since 2014's Puerto Rico Open—bogeyed his final three holes for his first round over 68 all tournament (75).

Higgo, meanwhile, posted rounds of 68, 69, 68 and 68, remaining consistent throughout all four rounds and earning himself a $1.3 million payday.

Here's a look at the rest of the final leaderboard.

Palmetto Championship Final Leaderboard

1. Garrick Higgo (-11)

T2. Hudson Swafford (-10)

T2. Doc Redman (-10)

T2. Jhonattan Vegas (-10)

T2. Tyrrell Hatton (-10)

T2. Bo Van Pelt (-10)

T2. Chesson Hadley (-10)

T8. Ryan Armour (-9)

T8. David Lipsky (-9)

T10. Matt Fitzpatrick (-8)

T10. Erik van Rooyen (-8)

T10. Pat Perez (-8)

T10. Dustin Johnson (-8)

Notables: T14. Harris English (-7), T25. Ian Poulter (-5), T31. Luke Donald (-4), T35. Sungjae Im (-3), T35. Tommy Fleetwood

Full leaderboard available via PGA Tour

Recap

Higgo played about as solid a round as he could've hoped for to lock up his first win. After birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to begin the day, the newcomer dropped both shots with bogeys on Nos. 6 and No. 9.

The back nine proved much calmer. Higgo picked up an eagle on No. 12, another birdie on No. 14 and made par on his last four holes as Hesson imploded.

Van Pelt began the day in fourth place having shot his best round of the week Saturday (66) and continued to crush the ball Sunday. He reached the green in two shots on the par-five No. 4 to sink his first eagle of the day in between birdies and then did the same on the par-five No. 12.

Both eagles saw Van Pelt drive more than 330 yards off the tee, with his first shot on No. 4 flying 350 yards. His second shot attempts on each hole were eerily similar, going 213 and 215 feet, respectively, and landing within 10 feet of the cup.

It was exactly what he needed to continue climbing the leaderboard and keep up with Hadley, who struggled for much of the day.

While Van Pelt finished with two eagles, three birdies and four bogeys for his first top-five finish since 2015, Hadley found himself in trouble early on, bogeying Nos. 2 and 3 to finish four over par in the final round.

Those mistakes helped keep Dustin Johnson alive for most of the day despite a bogey of his own on hole No. 1. He wrapped up the front nine with two birdies and had three more on the back before a triple bogey on No. 16 knocked him out of contention.

The No. 1 golfer in the world still made some noticeable progress over the week, earning his highest finish on the leaderboard since he tied for eighth at the Genesis Invitational back in February. He'll happily take that result as he heads to San Diego next for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Johnson is still expected to enter the major as one of the betting favorites despite his recent struggles.

Jon Rahm holds the best odds for the U.S. Open at +800 (bet $100 to win $800) with Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas all tied with the second-best odds at +1200, per DraftKings Sportsbook.

With his victory on Sunday, Higgo is poised to jump up the list of favorites as he returns to a major tournament with a win on his resume. Higgo also becomes the sixth player to win their first tournament this season, joining Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz, Joel Dahmen, Sam Burns and K.H. Lee.

Chesson Hadley continued his string of excellent golf Saturday to take a four-shot lead at the 2021 Palmetto Championship.

Hadley is 14-under-par thus far, but he will have to play a little extra golf Sunday because of the inclement weather in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Hadley, Dustin Johnson, Harris English and Tain Lee still have one hole from the third round to finish before starting the fourth round.

There was plenty of movement behind Hadley on the leaderboard. Harris English moved up two spots into sole possession of second place at 10 under.

Things didn't go as well for Dustin Johnson, though he is still tied for third. The world's top-ranked player started the day two shots off the pace, but he was one-over for the round through 17 before play was suspended.

Palmetto Championship Saturday Leaderboard

1. Chesson Hadley (-14)

2. Harris English (-10)

T3. Garrick Higgo (-8)

T3. Dustin Johnson (-8)

T5. Bo Van Pelt (-7)

T5. Tyrrell Hatton (-7)

T7. Seamus Power (-6)

T7. Tain Lee (-6)

T7. Danny Lee (-6)

T7. Luke Donald (-6)

T7. Jhonattan Vegas (-6)

T7. Doc Redman (-6)

T7. Pat Perez (-6)

Full leaderboard via PGATour.com.

Hadley played perhaps his most efficient round of the weekend Saturday. He got off to a shaky start when his tee shot on No. 1 landed in the native area. The North Carolina native hit his second shot 39 yards to get back on the fairway but leaving him 110 yards away from the green.

After taking a bogey, Hadley settled in with eight consecutive pars to close out the front nine at one over.

The back nine is when Hadley did damage to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field. He had a run of four birdies in five holes from Nos. 12 to 16. His first birdie was a par-five save when his second shot landed in the bunker.

This weekend marks an incredible turnaround for Hadley. The 33-year-old missed the cut in nine of his previous 11 events, including four straight, with no top-10 finishes all season. He's chasing his first PGA Tour win since the 2014 Puerto Rico Open.

One of the players who will attempt to put pressure on Hadley in the final round is English. He looked to be on his way to a near-perfect day, but a mistake off the tee on No. 17 led to his only bogey.

English started his day with five birdies through 16 holes, including two on par-threes. He sank a 38-footer on No. 10 that dropped his total to 10 under.

Looking ahead to Sunday, English will need to reverse a seasonlong trend if he wants to catch Hadley. The 31-year-old's 70.15 scoring average in the final round is his second-worst average (71.18 in the first round).

Johnson will attempt to get back on track after a disappointing day on the course. He struggled to find any consistency or rhythm from hole to hole. The two-time major champion began to see his round fall apart on No. 5 when he bogeyed the par-three hole.

Another bogey on eight moved Johnson to one over for the day. It looked like he put things together with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, but a bogey on the following hole put him over par once again.

Tain Lee, who only made it into the field through qualifying Monday, continues to be one of the best stories of the tournament. He got off to a fantastic start in the third round with four birdies through five holes.

The back nine turned out to be a problem for Lee. He had a stretch of three bogeys and one double bogey from Nos. 13 to 17 that pushed his third-round score over par (72).

Lee is still part of a seven-way tie for seventh place and is in position to finish in the top 10 if he can close strong Sunday.

Jon Rahm has been cleared to play the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines next week after testing negative twice and clearing COVID-19 protocol, the Spaniard tweeted:

Rahm was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament last week following a positive test. He had just completed his third round and held a six-stroke lead at the time tournament officials informed him of his test results.

The 26-year-old is ranked No. 3 in the world and is looking for his second top-10 finish at the major tournament after finishing tied for third in 2019.

PGA Tour rules required Rahm to isolate for 10 days, but he was cleared for travel following two negative tests because he was asymptomatic. Had he remained in isolation, Rahm would've been unable to travel to the U.S. Open until two days before play began.

Rahm is already the betting favorite for the major tournament with DraftKings Sportsbook listing him at +800 (bet $100 to win $800), ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas all at +1200.

This is the second time Torrey Pines has hosted the U.S. Open, which last saw Tiger Woods defeat Rocco Mediate via sudden-death playoff in 2008 despite Woods playing with a severely injured knee that required surgery two days later.

Rahm has typically played the course well, winning the Farmers Insurance Open there in 2017.

He'll look to jump right back to the top of the leaderboard once again as he heads to California to continue his preparation.

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The No. 1 golfer in the world is once again sitting close to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend.

Through two rounds of play at the Palmetto Championship, Dustin Johnson finds himself nine under par and in second place for consecutive days. He trails current leader Chesson Hadley (11 under) by just two strokes. 

The 2021 PGA season hasn't been too kind to Johnson.

After the 36-year-old finished the Sentry Tournament of Champions tied for 11th—and the following month's Genesis Invitational tied for eighth—Johnson began to struggle. 

He tied for 54th at the WGC-Workday Championships, tied for 48th at The Players Championship and then missed the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship. Only once since February has Johnson finished a weekend in the top 15 (T13 at RBC Heritage). 

Johnson may finally be correcting course at Congaree Golf Club in his home state of South Carolina. 

Palmetto Championship Friday Leaderboard

1. Chesson Hadley (-11)

2. Dustin Johnson (-9)

3. Tain Lee (-7)

T4. Harris English (-6)

T4. Chez Reavie (-6)

T4. Erik van Rooyen (-6)

T4. Pat Perez (-6)

T4. Seamus Power (-6)

T4. Wilco Nienaber (-6)

T10. Garrick Higgo (-5)

T10. Rob Oppenheim (-5)

T10. Doc Redman (-5)

T10. Patrick Rodgers (-5)

Notables: T20. Ian Poulter (-2), T29. Matt Fitzpatrick (-1), T44. Brandt Snedeker (E), T53. Tommy Fleetwood (+1).

Full leaderboard available via PGA Tour

Recap

Johnson followed up his opening round of 65 with a second-round 68, but it was really just one mistake that held him back Friday.

A double bogey on par-four No. 18 following a drop penalty off the tee took Johnson from five under on the day to three under. It was just the second bogey on the day for Johnson, who sank two birdies to open the round before picking up four more on the back nine.

A bogey on par-four No. 13 was the only setback before Johnson reached the 18th. 

He'll enter Moving Day looking to gain ground on Hadley and stay in position to win his first tournament since he claimed The Masters in 2020. 

Contending with one of the best golfers on the planet is the PGA's newest member, Wilco Nienaber. The 21-year-old from South Africa has been an absolute force with the driver this week, ranking first in shots off the tee this weekend at 340.3 yards in his tour debut. 

Nienaber shot back-to-back rounds of 68 to begin the weekend and put himself inside the top five heading into Saturday. An eagle on Friday paired with five birdies helped erase four bogeys on the day as the rookie moved up 15 spots on the leaderboard. 

Only four players have earned a victory in their tour debut with Emiliano Grillo's 2016 Frys.com Open serving as the most recent. Nienaber is looking to join Russell Henley (2013), Henrik Stenson (2007) and Garrett Willis (2001) as the only other golfers to achieve the feat. 

He'll have to get past both Johnson and Hadley to make that happen. The latter certainly isn't making that task any easier. Hadley put together seven birdies on two bogeys Friday while hitting 72.22 percent of his greens in regulation. 

Fortunately for the leaders, the one-over-par cut line took a number of tour veterans out of play for the weekend. Kevin Kisner (+2), Padraig Harrington (+3), Brooks Koepka (+3) and Harold Varner III (+5) all failed to make it to the weekend. 

Tiger Woods reportedly declined an invitation from NBC Sports to serve as a broadcaster for the 2021 U.S. Open next week.

Dan Hicks of NBC Sports told reporters Thursday that Woods turned down an offer from the network to help break down the action from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego:

He didn't want to do it, and I totally understand his situation. There is a lot going on in his world right now and there's also a part of Tiger that doesn't want to become this, I don't want to, for lack of a better word, a sideshow at an event where we should be concentrating on what's happening.

Woods is still recovering from a car crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Feb. 23. He underwent surgery that same day to repair significant injuries to his right leg. 

Dr. Anish Mahajan, who performed the surgery, said in a statement that "open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia." Woods also had pins and screws inserted into his foot and ankle.

Golf Digest posted a photo of Woods walking with crutches to Instagram on May 24. 

"My physical therapy has been keeping me busy," Woods told Daniel Rapaport of Golf Digest. "I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time."

This year's U.S. Open is being held at Torrey Pines for the first time since 2008. Woods won that tournament, despite playing with a torn ACL that later required surgery. 

The 2021 U.S. Open will begin on June 17. Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champion.