Masters 2023: Rains stops third round at Augusta as Brooks Koepka leads
- Published
- comments
Brooks Koepka's score of 12 under after 36 holes was the third best at the halfway stage of the Masters
2023 Masters latest third-round leaderboard |
|---|
-13 B Koepka (US); -9 J Rahm (Spa); -6 S Bennett [a] (US); -5 P Cantlay (US), C Morikawa (US), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), V Hovland (Nor) |
Selected others: -4 P Mickelson (US), J Rose (Eng), J Day (Aus); -3 S Scheffler (US); -2 S Lowry (Ire), J Spieth (US); -1 T Hatton (Eng); Level T Fleetwood (Eng); +9 T Woods (US) |
Heavy downpours forced play to be abandoned on the third day of the Masters after American Brooks Koepka extended his advantage at Augusta.
Halfway leader Koepka is 13 under, four clear of Spain's Jon Rahm who bogeyed two of the six holes they played.
Both players had birdied the second as round three - delayed after Friday's storms - got under way late.
In the cold and wet conditions, Tiger Woods had double bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes to drop to nine over.
The five-time champion, 47, started on the 10th tee as Augusta organisers attempted to get through as much play as possible before the persistent rain made the course unplayable.
Woods battled to go beyond the halfway stage earlier on Saturday - meaning he equalled the record set by Gary Player and Fred Couples of 23 consecutive cuts made - but is now last of the 54 remaining players.
The rain abated between the second and third rounds, only to return soon after the players teed off again.
The hooter sounded at 15:15 local time (20:15 BST) with play immediately called off for the day.
Four-time major winner Koepka, who was playing in a three-ball with Rahm and American amateur Sam Bennett, was putting on the seventh green - which looked close to being flooded - when they were forced off the course.
"You can't really say it was too late [to suspend play] because I don't blame them for wanting us to play as much as possible," said Rahm.
"It was just too bad I couldn't save at least one par on four or five, but I made a great swing on six and two great swings on seven.
"So I'm feeling confident, playing good golf and there's a lot to be played."
World number three Rahm was one of 39 players who had to finish their second round on Saturday, and despite the inclement weather he reduced Koepka's overnight lead to two shots.
His third round started promisingly with a birdie on the second but Koepka matched it to maintain his two-shot advantage, before Rahm bogeyed the fourth and fifth.
After starting with back-to-back 68s, 23-year-old Bennett confidently said he felt he could become the first amateur to win a major in 90 years, but was given a reality check when he bogeyed the first and second holes.
The final group must play 29 holes on Sunday if the tournament is to finish on time and avoid a first Monday finish since 1983.
But the weather forecast looks more positive, with drier and sunnier conditions expected.
"I'm not too concerned about playing 29 holes. It's part of the deal," said Koepka, who plays on the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf circuit.
"I'm pretty sure I'll be up for it considering it is the Masters. So I don't think anybody should have a problem with that."
England's Matt Fitzpatrick will be hoping the enforced break will not stall his momentum. The US Open champion claimed three birdies in his opening eight holes to move into joint fourth place on five under.
The third round will resume at 13:30 BST, with the final round expected to begin at 17:30 with players again teeing off from the first and 10th holes.
It's sink or swim for rookie police officers in Belfast: Watch Blue Lights, a nail-biting new drama, on BBC iPlayer
Four movies that predicted the future incorrectly: Are practical hoverboards and flying cars just a distant dream?
