World No. 1 Jon Rahm WDs from THE PLAYERS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jon Rahm, the top-ranked player in the world ranking and FedExCup, withdrew before the second round of THE PLAYERS.

Rahm pulled out of the event due to illness. He was scheduled to tee off at 12:56 p.m. Friday with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in a group comprised of the top three players in the world ranking.

Rahm, who has won three times this season, shot 71 in Thursday’s opening round.

With Rahm’s withdrawal, the top spot in both the world ranking and the FedExCup are up for grabs.

Both Scheffler and Rahm could return to No. 1 in the world this week. McIlroy, who shot 76 on Thursday, needs to finish in the top eight to have any chance of reaching world No. 1, while Scheffler needs a top-five finish. Scheffler shot 68 on Thursday. One member of the trio of Rahm, Scheffler and McIlroy has held the No. 1 ranking since July 2021.

Max Homa is the only player who can catch Rahm in the FedExCup. Homa would need to win THE PLAYERS to pass the Spaniard. Rahm has finished in the top 10 in six of his seven starts this season, including his three wins. The lone exception was last week’s T39 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.