John Rahm tests positive again, out of Olympics

It’s deja vu all over again for Jon Rahm.

The Spanish golfer, World No. 1 and  2021 U.S. Open champion will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.

Rahm, who finished tied for third in the British Open last week, had to take four PCR tests in the United Kingdom before coming to Tokyo. He failed three consecutive tests, the Spanish Olympic Committee confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

Rahm won the U.S. Open just 15 days after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament ahead of the final round despite holding a commanding six-stroke lead.

The Spanish Olympic Committee said, via the International Golf Federation, that they could not get a replacement for Rahm due to inadequate “time to find a replacement and comply with the necessary health protocols required for the Tokyo Olympics.” Adri Arnaus will be Spain’s only representative in the men’s golf competition, which is scheduled to begin Thursday.

Speaking in May, Rahm commented on his desire to represent his country in the Olympics despite what he termed the “inconveniences” involved in competing.

“I’ve been able to win championships representing Spain as an amateur in almost every imaginable level, and to bring back the gold medal would be something amazing…It’s an absolute dream of mine to be an Olympian.”

Rahm said he had mild symptoms of the coronavirus when he previously tested positive. He had to quarantine ahead of the U.S. Open. At the time of his original positive test, he tweeted out, “This is one of those things that happens in life, one of those moments where how we respond to a setback defines us as people. I’m very thankful that my family and I are all OK. I will take all of the necessary precautions to be safe and healthy, and I look forward to returning to the golf course as soon as possible.”

Ahead of winning his first major, Rahm said he was vaccinated the Monday before the June 3-6 Memorial and regretted waiting to get vaccinated.

“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,” Rahm said at the time. “I’m not going to lie; I was trying to just get ready for a golf tournament. If I had done it in a few days earlier, probably we wouldn’t be having these conversations right now. It is what it is. We move on.”

Less than six hours earlier, American Bryson DeChambeau also tested positive and was replaced on Team USA by Patrick Reed, who had been third in line to be a replacement, behind Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka.

Contributing: Jim Reineking, Alex Ptachick, USA TODAY.