Collin Morikawa Has Share of Memorial Lead After Jon Rahm's Positive COVID-19 Result

Former Cal star is tied at the top now with Patrick Cantlay; Max Homa is fifth.

Collin Morikawa walked off the course at Muirfield Village on Saturday afternoon having carded a third-round 66 but tied for second place, six strokes back of red-hot Jon Rahm.

Morikawa will tee off Sunday morning’s final round of the Memorial Tournament tied for the top spot after Rahm tested positive for COVID-19, meaning he will have to withdraw from the event.

Rahm shot a 64 on Saturday after including a hole-in-one in a second-round 65 he completed in the morning and appeared in good position to chase victory with a 54-hole score of 18-under par 198.

Now, it will be Morikawa and second-round co-leader Patrick Cantley who share the lead at 12-under 204. They have a three-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler and Branden Grace. Morikawa's fellow Cal alum, Max Homa, shot a 72 in the third round and is alone in fifth place, six strokes off the pace at six under par.

Cantlay, 29, expressed sympathy for Rahm after the stunning news was announced.

“It's the worst situation that something like this could happen in and unfortunately I guess we knew that this was a potential lurking out there even when we came back to golf. It's just extremely unfortunate,” Cantlay said

Here's the official statement from the PGA:

PGA statement

.Morikawa, just 24 and seeking his fifth PGA tour victory, had eight birdies and two bogeys on the way to his 66 on Saturday. But no was able to keep up with Rahm, who posted nine birdies and just one bogey during the round.

Rahm, a 26-year-old native of Spain and Arizona State alum, is the world's second-ranked player. He has not won on the tour this season but has 10 finishes in the top-10.

Andy Levinson, the PGA Tour's Senior Vice President of Tournament Administration, would not confirm during a Saturday evening news conference whether Rahm was fully vaccinated. Levinson added that, under Tour protocols that align with CDC guidelines, a person who is fully vaccinated would not have been subject to contact tracing unless he showed symptoms.

After winning the Memorial last July, Rahm talked about two family members in Spain who had died as a result of COVID-19. Rahm talked about the loss of his great-grandmother and his mother’s aunt, who died not from the virus itself, but from what he believes was "the toll that it takes mentally for those people to be quarantined and just having to deal with the situation."

Morikawa, ranked No. 6 in the world, is aiming for his second victory of the season. He has five top-10 finishes and has placed in the top 20 in four of his past five events.

Morikawa nearly records an ace:

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Morikawa had to shake off a triple-bogey six on the par-3 12th hole on Friday evening just before play was halted due to darkness. He returned Saturday morning and birdied Nos. 14 and 16 to finish the round at even-par 72 and in a tie for third place with Homa.

He had seven birdies during Saturday's third round but his most important hole may have been No. 12 - which had torpedoed him the day before. He made par when his five-foot putt did a complete 360-degree rotation around the lip before falling in.

In an interview conducted prior to the announcement regarding Rahm, Morikawa said, “Today was really solid. The couple bogeys I had were just kind of poor bogeys. But it's going to happen out here, especially if you're missing the fairways. And overall, I was hitting some really quality shots.

“I stuck to my game and stuck to the game plan. Out here with these soft greens you can get a little aggressive with wedges and put yourself in bad spots, but I thought I played pretty smart and I’ve got to do that tomorrow.”

Here is Morikawa's drive on the 15th on Saturday:

Homa entered play Saturday tied for fourth place but still needing to complete his second round after play was halted Friday. Playing on the front nine, he birdied No. 6 and completed a round of 69 with three straight pars.

Max Homa resides in fifth place entering Sunday's final round.

Enjoying his best season on the tour at age 30, Homa shot a 72 on Saturday with three birdies and three bogeys.

Cal alum Brandon Hagy shot a third-round 77 and is tied for 63rd place at seven over par.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatch for USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo