AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm was drenched as he made his way to the locker room on Saturday afternoon. The horn had blown. Play was suspended. But the rain wasn’t letting up. A patron extended their arm and offered him a beer. Rahm paid him no attention, but after a day like Saturday, who would have blamed him anyway?
Because Saturday at Augusta? It was miserable.
The temperature, which felt colder due to the wind, barely hit the 50s, it rained hard almost all day and the third round of the 2023 Masters was officially called at 3:15 p.m. ET due to inclement weather. The latest suspension sets the stage for a busy final day on Sunday, in which half the field still has to complete at least 27 holes to finish the tournament.
“It’s tough. You know nothing’s going to be given to you and you’re going to have to hit good shots upon good shots upon good shots,” Viktor Hovland said. “You’re still going to have to make some putts and chip the ball because no one’s going to hit every green out here today. So it makes for a very scrappy game.”
Through all the chaos, Brooks Koepka added to his lead. He’s 13 under — four clear of second place — and was six holes through his third round when the horn blew. He’s playing alongside the closest competitors, Rahm, who is nine under, and amateur Sam Bennett, who is six under.
That threesome will return to finish the par-4 7th hole when play resumes on Sunday morning.
The good news? Sunday’s forecast calls for partly cloudy conditions, less than 10 percent chance of rain after 7 a.m., winds around 13 mph and afternoon temps in the high 50s and low 60s.
Unlikely allies Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy had radically different Masters
Play will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and will air on CBS. The final round is expected to begin at 12:30 p.m. with pairings going off both tees. CBS’ final-round live broadcast from 2-7 p.m. remains unchanged.
There was, at least, some golf played on Saturday, which was important. Now there should be no problem completing the third round and finishing the final one.
Saturday’s suspension comes a day after rain, strong winds and a pair or trees coming down led to a stoppage of play on Friday. After a brief 21-minute suspension on Friday afternoon, play was suspended again at 4:22 p.m. and called for the day about 90 minutes later.
Thirty-nine players who had yet to finish their second rounds started again at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, battling heavy rain and difficult conditions compared to the other side of the draw. On Friday, Gary Woodland said the late/early Thursday/Friday wave caught a “huge break” with the draw due to the weather. He wasn’t kidding.
Take the par-4 18th hole on Saturday, for example. Finishing his second round in wet conditions with little rollout in the fairway, Rahm hit his drive just 241 yards — 52 yards shorter than Thursday — leaving 214 yards in. Sometimes players have wedges in on 18. Today some hit woods.
“Just completely different,” Hovland said.
The second round was completed by 10:51 a.m. with Koepka leading at 12 under, Rahm and 10 under and Bennett at eight under. The third round started at 11:30 a.m. with players going off in threesomes and from both tees.
Koepka wasted no time adding to his lead when the third round started. He birdied the par-5 2nd hole and made pars the rest of the way, refusing to give anything back as his lead grew due to the miscues of others.
“It’s obviously super difficult,” Koepka said. “Ball’s not going anywhere. You’ve got rain to deal with, and it’s freezing cold. It doesn’t make it easy. You’ve got to make some pressure putts. You know it was going to be a difficult day. You’ve just got to grind through it and try to salvage something.”
Rahm also birdied 2 but made bogeys on 4 and 5. Bennett bogeyed 1 and 2. Further down the leaderboard at five under sits Patrick Cantlay (through 13), Matt Fitzpatrick (through 11), Collin Morikawa (through seven) and Hovland (through seven).
Koepka, with a win, would claim his fifth major title. But there’s still lots of golf to be played. The most holes any group completed was 13. Koepka, Rahm and Bennett still have the most to play. When they return to the 7th on Sunday morning, Rahm will have a nine-footer for birdie, while Koepka (from 11 feet) and Bennett (from seven feet) will need to convert par saves.
“I’m not too concerned about playing 29 holes or however many holes we’ve got left,” Koepka said. “It’s part of the deal. I’m pretty sure I’ll be up for it considering it is the Masters.”
