Brooks Koepka leads Jon Rahm by 2 with 18 holes left to decide 2023 Masters

Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm walk to the 12th tee during the third round of the Masters on Sunday.

Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm walk to the 12th tee during the third round of the Masters on Sunday.

Getty Images

AUGUSTA, Ga. — And now, we have some clarity.

After two weather-delayed rounds at Augusta National, the rain is gone, the sun is peeking through the clouds and the field is caught up. Only 18 holes remain before Augusta National will crown a new Masters champ and, yes, all signs point to a tidy Sunday finish.

Brooks Koepka leads at 11 under. Chasing him are Jon Rahm (nine under), Viktor Hovland (eight under) and Patrick Cantlay (six under). Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champ, and Russell Henley both sit at five under.

Koepka, who signed with LIV Golf last year, is looking for his first major win since the 2019 PGA Championship, which was the last of four he won in an eight-major stretch. Rahm’s only major title remains the 2021 U.S. Open, and Hovland and Cantlay are still looking for their first.

Players will go off both tees for the final round on Sunday, which will start at 12:30 p.m. Koepka and Rahm make up the final pairing.

It will be the continuation of a long day of golf for that duo (and everyone else). Koepka, Rahm and amateur Sam Bennett, who made up the final threesome in the third round, had their play suspended after six holes on Saturday. Koepka led Rahm by four at that point, but when they resumed on the 7th green Koepka missed his par putt and Rahm rolled in his birdie, cutting the lead to two.

That’s still the deficit with 18 holes to play.

A green jacket awaits the winner.

Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.