Consequences

My Journal - Agatha Nolen

My parents instilled in me that decisions have consequences. It was unfortunate that Jon Rahm had to withdraw from the Memorial Golf Tournament this weekend for a positive COVID-19 test after taking a 6-shot lead on Saturday. Jon missed out on winning the tournament and also the $1.675 million top prize. Rahm has made over $3.8 million on the Tour this year with a current ranking of #12 of money-earners. In addition, he will have to self-isolate for 10 days which will mean a shortened practice schedule for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines June 14-20.

It hasn’t been clear from the news media if Jon had gotten vaccinated, but he was on the COVID-19 contact tracing protocol after it was discovered Monday that he had been in close contact with someone who was positively diagnosed. As vaccinations were more readily available, the PGA Tour updated its testing protocol on April 19, 2021, so fully vaccinated individuals no longer were subject to routine testing, and if they came in contact with an individual, they no longer needed to quarantine.

It appears that making a decision to not get vaccinated may have been a costly decision for Rahm.

I can share the anguish of playing the best golf round of my life, but having to cut it short so it doesn’t count. It has happened to me a number of times, but always out of my control as it was weather-related. I don’t know how it would feel to know that I could have won a tournament if I’d made a different decision.

Some decisions are straight-forward and we know that they are wrong when we make them.

Others are more subtle where the consequences aren’t assured, and we are weighing the pros and cons to determine the correct path. Even then, sometimes the pros and cons aren’t clear, or are rapidly changing, like our understanding of COVID-19 transmission and precautions.

I’m sorry for Jon; it sounds like he is asymptomatic and hopefully will go on to win other golf tournaments. But it is a good lesson for all of us: decisions matter.

I spend some time in prayer before big decisions. Hopefully the right path will become clear and I will have the wisdom to take the correct fork in the road.

P.S.- I just started working Sudoku puzzles. Seems like if I make a wrong decision, I have to completely start over at the beginning. Each decision has extreme consequences if it’s not the right one.

Blessings, my friend,
Agatha

Photo credit: Jordan Spieth tees off on 12 during the third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Photo by The Columbus Dispatch