PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida - World number one Jon Rahm withdrew from the Players Championship before his scheduled second round on Friday due to illness, the PGA Tour said.

The Spaniard who made a one-under-par 71 in his first round on Thursday was due to play with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on Friday.

Rahm has been in excellent form this season winning three events on the PGA Tour after clinching the DP World Tour Championship in November.

In January, Rahm won the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and then The American Express tournament in California later that month.

Last month, he won the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Club in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood near Los Angeles. AFP