The Masters: Third round suspended as rain drenches field at Augusta National

Tiger Woods walks the 18th green during the second round on Saturday, April 8.

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A spectator watches play on the 12th hole in the rain on Saturday.

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Fred Couples waves to patrons after finishing his second round on Saturday. Couples made history as the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters.

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Groundskeepers remove standing water on green during the continuation of the weather-delayed second round on Saturday.

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Patrick Cantlay plays a shot from a bunker on the 18th hole on Saturday.

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A security guard moves people away from trees that blew over on the 17th hole of the Augusta National Golf Club on Friday. No injuries were reported.

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Brooks Koepka tees off on the 10th hole Friday. He is 12 under par heading into the weekend.

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Jason Day and William Kane, caddie for Gordon Sargent, read the first green on Friday.

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Woods tees off on the eighth hole Friday.

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Amateur Sam Bennett plays a shot on the second hole Friday. He shot 68s on both Thursday and Friday.

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Jon Rahm plays out from the bunker on the second hole Friday.

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Billy Horschel reacts to a shot on the second hole Friday.

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Viktor Hovland chips onto the 10th green Thursday. The Norwegian shot a 7-under 65 and shared the first-round lead with Koepka and Rahm.

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Patrick Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, helps Reed line up a putt on the 13th hole Thursday.

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Woods grimaces on the fourth tee Thursday. The five-time Masters champion said his surgically repaired right leg felt sore Thursday and that the pain is “constant.”

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Phil Mickelson hits a shot on the second hole Thursday.

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Adam Scott plays a bunker shot on the second hole Thursday.

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Pins adorn a spectator’s hat on Thursday.

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Defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the seventh hole Thursday.

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Sergio Garcia fishes his ball out of the creek on No. 13.

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A worker updates one of the leaderboards Thursday at Augusta National.

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Koepka hits his tee shot on the 14th hole Thursday.

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Hideki Matsuyama, who won the tournament two years ago, looks over a putt on the second hole.

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Rahm and his caddie, Adam Hayes, are seen on the third green Thursday.

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Golf legend Jack Nicklaus hits a ceremonial tee shot before the start of the first round. He was joined by Gary Player and Tom Watson.

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Rory McIlroy signs autographs after competing in the traditional par 3 contest that is held the day before the start of the tournament.

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Min Woo Lee walks to the 15th green during a practice round Wednesday.

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Masters 2023: The best pictures from Augusta

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CNN
 — 

The third round of The Masters was suspended for the rest of Saturday after a rain-soaked day at Augusta National.

Play had begun an hour earlier to allow several golfers to finish their second rounds after inclement weather had similarly suspended Friday’s action, where blustering winds saw three tall pine trees fall near spectators. No one was injured according to tournament organizers.

It meant affected players had mere hours between finishing their second rounds and beginning their third, including Tiger Woods – who made a record-equaling 23rd cut – and Jon Rahm, who teed off for his third round two shots behind overnight leader Brooks Koepka.

Amid a sea of umbrellas, four-time major winner Koepka was one of just 11 golfers to shoot under par as cold, wet, and windy conditions dampened many players’ hopes of rising up the leaderboard before the horn blew at 3:15 p.m. ET.

The third round will resume Sunday at 8:30 a.m ET, with the final round expected to start at 12:30 p.m. ET, The Masters said in a statement.

Water-soaked greens made life difficult for players.

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Koepka, Rahm, and amateur Sam Bennett made it through just six holes before play was suspended, with the American leader shooting one-under to stretch his lead at the summit to four strokes from Rahm. The Spaniard had started well with a birdie at the second hole but dropped to one-over after consecutive bogeys at the fourth and fifth.

Bennett, who had sparkled with two historic performances across the opening two rounds, made a nightmare start, opening with back-to-back bogeys.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 07: Amateur Sam Bennett of the United States plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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'Don't wait to do something': Amateur golfer Sam Bennett inspired by late father's last written words at The Masters

However, a strong response saw the 2022 US Amateur champion steady the ship with four straight pars, leaving him seven shots adrift of Koepka in third.

With 12 holes remaining for the lead group, it looks set to be a grueling day of Sunday action if The Masters is to avoid just the sixth Monday finish in the major’s history.

The last time the major finished on a Monday was in 1983, when Seve Ballesteros won his second green jacket after heavy rain had postponed play.

Koepka leads by four strokes heading into Sunday.

David J. Phillip/AP

Aside from Koepka, Patrick Cantlay and Matt Fitzpatrick returned to the clubhouse as the winners of the day. As scores tumbled around them, the duo shot a round-best three-under par to move into the quartet tied for fourth, world No. 4 Cantlay making it through 13 holes while reigning US Open champion Fitzpatrick managed 11.

They sit level at five-under par with Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland, who both completed seven holes before the horn blew.

Having narrowly secured his passage to the third round, Woods endured a torrid afternoon. His nine-over par after seven holes marked the worst score of the day by three strokes.

Fred Couples of The United States acknowledges the patrons as he walks off the 18th green having made the cut on one over par during the completion of the weather delayed second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia.

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Fred Couples makes history as the oldest player to make the cut at The Masters

The five-time Masters champion’s struggles with movement, visible during the opening two rounds, appeared even more pronounced as the day wore on.