Persistent heavy rain forced play to be abandoned on the third day of the 87th Masters, which saw Brooks Koepka extend his lead at Augusta to four shots with 29 holes still to play on Sunday.
Halfway leader Koepka was on 13 under par after six holes of his third round when the hooter rung out across the course at 3.15pm, requiring all players to head back to the safety of the clubhouse. The four-time major champion is now four clear of Jon Rahm, who bogeyed two of the six holes they played together and is on -9. Their three-ball is completed by US amateur Sam Bennett, who is playing in his first Masters and is currently in third on -6.
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 alongside Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland. Justin Rose is a shot back on -4, tied in group of six players that also includes Phil Mickelson.
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 with a birdie on the second, but Koepka matched it to maintain his two-shot advantage, before Rahm bogeyed the fourth and fifth to leave the American with a commanding lead, although with so many holes to play on Sunday it looks likely to turn into a stamina-sapping final day’s play.
“I’m not too concerned about playing 29 holes. It’s part of the deal,” said Koepka. “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.”
Tiger Woods made the cut on the mark at +3, despite making bogeys at 17 and 18 in round two, but the five-time Masters champion suffered double bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes in his third round, which started on the 10th hole, to drop to nine over par. Woods 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 third round will resume at 8.30am local time (1.30pm BST), with the final round expected to begin at 12.30pm (5.30pm BST) with players again teeing off from the first and 10th holes.
