Augusta, GA — Raindrops rolled down the lawn in sheets, hitting umbrellas along the way and pooling everywhere they could: in shoes, in plastic beer cups, famously — used to be Saturday — On the fiery green of Augusta National. Golf club.
That last part was a problem because the pond isn’t where you play the Masters tournament. By the time tournament officials suspended play in the third round at about 3:15 p.m., he was one of only 11 players in his field to have suffered a stroke or more at the Masters on a cold, almost miserable Saturday. was.
“That 7th green was soaking wet,” said Koepka, whose score improved to 13-under-par that week. “It was very difficult. I thought I hit a good bunker shot, but it seemed to slide over the water, so I’m glad I stopped.”
Play is scheduled to resume at 8:30 am ET on Sunday. Koepka led by four strokes over John, who was two strokes behind him at the start of the third round. Everyone else in the 54-man field is at least seven blocks away from the lead and is clearly expecting a softer course.
Sam Bennett, a Texas A&M amateur who finished third at 6 under par, said. “Since we started reducing it, I think we still need to reduce it. It can be a little difficult,” he added, noting that players play the ball when it’s on the fairway. You mentioned the requirement that…even if it’s dirty. “I’m sure there are some mud balls in there.”
Possibly because springtime Georgia mud is not easily removed by deploying Augusta National’s SubAir system to suck water off the greens.
Throughout this Masters Week, players and organizers have pondered the threat of rain and the possibility of a Monday finish for the first time since 1983. Start at 12:30pm on the 1st and 10th tees.
It was a nasty stretch for Augusta National, a club that usually enjoys sunny weather during the Masters. The sky forced two suspensions of play on Friday, so it looked like a modest victory when it cleared up enough for the players to finish the second round and start the third on Saturday. I got
The playing time was enough for Koepka to find the No. 2 bunker and make a birdie there anyway — two days in a row. Rahm also made another birdie on Saturday, but hit back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and his fifth, which ultimately saw him out at 9-under par in the afternoon. .
In the third round, the tournament organizers tried to bank as many golfs as possible using groups of three and two tee starts. The men at the top of the leaderboard looked somewhat content when play was suspended.
The feeling was very different at the bottom where Tiger Woods sank to 54th. He spent the morning trying stubbornly to create a mediocre version of himself, even though he made the cuts that kicked Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau out of the tournament much sooner than they wanted. It was just enough.
Woods, who had never missed a Masters spot since turning pro in 1996, banded together with his peers as if the tournament had turned into a rain and wind-plagued British Open.
You can be forgiven for wondering if it’s worth it.
Woods started the third round early Saturday afternoon with a perfect drive off the 10th tee, but his approach shot to the plateau green was short, rolled back onto the fairway and led to a bogey. After par, Woods, whose swing seemed stiffer as Augusta temperatures plummeted into the 40s, passed the ball awkwardly on the 14th tee and landed it into the row of trees to the left of the 14th fairway. hooked up. That led to another bogey.
After driving down the fairway and hitting a safe layup second shot on the par-5 15th, Woods appeared to be limping as he descended the steep hill toward the green. His pitch shot to the green landed on the putting surface, but it spun too much and rolled backwards into the pond. had the first double bogey in the tournament.
On Woods’ short par 3 16th tee shot, Woods’ stride appeared short and restricted his movement. His swing to the golf ball was clumsy, and his shot swerved left, well below target, and into a water hazard beside the hole. After the putt, Woods hit back-to-back double bogeys to drop his score in the tournament to nine overs.
Koepka, looking for his first major win since 2019, was 22 shots behind. He is an ambiguous weather forecast away from his first Masters title with his 30 holes. The official forecast for the tournament calls for “prolonged drizzle” on Sunday morning.
Meteorologists have also added new features to the weather forecast. Just in case, here’s the forecast for Monday.
