AUGUSTA, Ga. — The shoes were squishing and stained. Security personal raised their voice, advising everyone to slow down. Kudos to the one patron holding a diamond-pattern of fresh beers. A heartier tip of the cap to the other with an ice-cream sandwich. Some brave women in sundresses and men in shorts looked lost. So did Tiger Woods. The rain just wouldn’t let up. The members of Augusta National wield plenty of power in the world of golf, but even they don’t have an on-and-off switch for the weather.
Third-round play was suspended at the 2023 Masters at 3:15 p.m. ET for the balance of the day, with no one having completed their third rounds.
Brooks Koepka is sitting at 13 under through six holes and is four shots ahead of Jon Rahm — one of only two golfers within seven shots of Koepka’s lead.
Part of having success in the biggest tournaments includes having good luck. The late/early draw, of which Koepka was a part of, played nearly 2.5 strokes easier than the early/late draw.
Still, however, Koepka is looking like the major-winning brute of old.
Koepka made birdie on the par-5 2nd and was steady otherwise in his third round. He wasn’t even wearing a jacket as sheets of rain kept falling at Augusta National through the afternoon. He’s made only one bogey in 42 holes and is hitting it beautifully — fourth in Greens in Regulation so far.
More than the numbers is the attitude. Koepka, who jumped to LIV Golf last year, cares little about what people think of him. He just wants to get back to winning.
“The whole goal is to win the Grand Slam, right? I feel like all the greats have won (at Augusta National) and they have all won British Opens as well. Look, I guess it’s one more box for me to tick to truly feel like I’ve done what I should have accomplished in this game,” said Koepka after his 5-under 67 on Friday.
Koepka, who sits at 1 under in his third round, is grouped with Rahm and amateur Sam Bennett. Rahm was looking to keep this Masters a two-horse race and was 1 under through three holes. He made back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5, though, and will need to make up some serious ground on a seemingly unflappable Koepka on Sunday.
“You’ve just got to grind through it and try to salvage something,” said Koepka. “I’m not too concerned about playing 29 holes or however many holes we’ve got left. It’s part of the deal. 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.”
The final group will be on the seventh green when play continues, with Rahm four shots back. Bennett is third at 6 under, while there is a foursome of golfers at 5 under and tied for fourth.
Among those tied for fourth are Patrick Cantlay and 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick, both of whom have the low round of the day so far (along with Sungjae Im) at 3 under. Cantlay is through 13 holes while Fitzpatrick is through 11.
The good news is that the weather is supposed to be just fine Sunday and Masters officials are expecting to finish this tournament on time. The third round is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. ET with the final round expected to begin at 12:30 p.m. with pairings going off of Nos. 1 and 10.
But, wow, was Saturday ever bad.
“It felt like a different sport today,” Canadian Mackenzie Hughes told Sportsnet earlier in the day.
Hughes, the lone Canadian to make the cut, managed to get nine holes in for his third round — although he made only one par. Bogeys came on Nos. 10, 11, 17, and 18, while he made double bogey on 14 after knocking his tee shot in the pine straw. He made birdies on Nos. 12, 13, and 15.
Hughes sits tied for 49th with 27 holes left in the tournament and he’ll look to improve on his career-best Masters result (a tie for 40th) come Sunday night.
The Canadian is 4 over for the week, but is five shots ahead of his childhood idol, Tiger Woods.
With temperatures sitting around 6C through the day and with a steady rain falling, the poor conditions finally caught up to the five-time Masters winner Saturday afternoon. Woods’ limp was even more pronounced than usual he was struggling to walk, let alone score.
Woods, who teed off in the last group on No.10 — opposite to the leaders — bogeyed No.10 and No.14 before making back-to-back double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16. It was the first time in his Masters career he made back-to-back double bogeys or worse.
Woods’ worst-ever rounds at Augusta National came last year when he shot back-to-back 78s on the weekend. He’s 6 over through seven holes (and 9 over for the week) and is currently in last place.
While the weather is supposed to improve Sunday, there’s a big question mark on whether Woods’ body will even allow him to continue.
There’s no question, however, about who is playing the best this week. And with a four-shot advantage heading into Sunday’s fingers-crossed finale, a Koepka-coronation may be closer than we think.
