AUGUST | The weather was cloudy this afternoon at the Masters tournament, with heavy rain causing the game to be suspended at 3:15 p.m. Unable to continue under these conditions, officials completed the third round. Brooks Koepka managed to limit the damage after a third of the course.
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At -13, the 32-year-old American had even deducted a shot from par on the 6th pennant. He will be back in action tomorrow morning on the 7th green with a four shot lead over Jon Rahm.
“It was very difficult on the course. At that temperature, the bullet was going nowhere. You also have to deal with rain and cold, summed up Koepka.
“And you have to do high-pressure putts,” continued the man who was one of 11 golfers playing under par before play was stopped yesterday. Everyone knew it was going to be a very difficult day. We just had to work harder and manage to save the normal ones.
It’s therefore the perfect time to get back on Koepka’s heels and try to attract the sparrows.
Fierce battle ahead
This heavy cockfight promises the last day of competition. Some pundits had played the prophets by placing a PGA Tour representative against a LIV Golf representative in the final round.
That prophecy is well on the way to being fulfilled as the two headliners of each course go head to head with 25 holes to play.
“There’s still a lot of golf ahead of us. I feel good, strong and ready for a long day tomorrow,” said Rahm. The weather conditions are getting good and the course is getting softer.”
We must never forget the old adage, often repeated on Augusta National’s sacred ground: The Masters has only just begun on the back nine in the finals round.
History has shown us too many times how leaders collapse and hunters catch their prey, especially in Amen Corner.
Not long ago, on a specific Sunday in April 2019, Tiger Woods used Francesco Molinari’s route on the legendary par 3 of the 12th pennant in the heart of Amen Corner. Two hours later, he roared to show he had regained lordship of the place.
derailments
On the other end of the spectrum, Jordan Spieth blew his lead in the final round of the 2016 edition. He drowned two balls in Rae’s Creek while crossing “Golden Bell” en route to a 7. He later gave the green jacket over to Danny Willett.
And there’s that implosion of Greg Norman in 1996. Nick Faldo, six strokes ahead at the start of the final round, the White Shark, now commissioner of LIV Golf, lost by five strokes with a disastrous 78 (+6) card!
Norman’s name still lingers in the record books in Masters history as the point guard who lost the largest lead after 54 holes.
We’re betting that if he manages to carve out a comfortable lead after 54 holes, Koepka certainly won’t be asking his boss for advice.
The leading pair is followed by amateur Sam Bennett at -6. Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland are roaming around with -4.