Rahm starts over at the Memorial

DUBLIN » Jon Rahm is ready to start over at the Memorial as tempting as it is to look back.

That last shot he hit at Muirfield Village was tapping in for par on the 18th hole that gave him a sixshot lead and a place in the tournament record book for sharing the lowest 54-hole lead. And that’s as far as he got.

Rahm was notified of a positive COVID-19 test that knocked him out of the tournament.

“I was mad for about 10 minutes,” Rahm said. “I allowed myself to be upset. But instantly, my switch flipped and I called my wife and I made sure that she was OK and my son was OK.”

Moments later, he said he was sharing a laugh with his caddie as they sipped on a milkshake. What else was there to do?

“At that moment, I chose to just remember how good I had played,” Rahm said, and that good form continued when he returned two weeks later and captured his first major in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

He returns to Memorial having won a month ago in the Mexico Open, and there is no feeling of Muirfield Village owing him anything. Patrick Cantlay wound up winning in a playoff over Collin Morikawa — oddly enough, Cantlay ended up beating Rahm again at the end of the season in the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup.

“It’s not like I get one more round. It’s a whole new tournament,” Rahm said.

“Is it motivation? Yes. But you know, it’s not much more added to what I already had . ... The good thing about golf is there’s always a next week and a next year. I have another chance this time.”

Winning the Memorial is motivation enough. It is one of three PGA Tour events of elevated status that offers a $12 million purse and a three-year exemption.