Jon Rahm headed into the final day of the 87th Masters in confident mood, despite a sizeable deficit to leader Brooks Koepka at Augusta National.
Rahm trailed Koepka by two shots after completing his delayed second round on Saturday and found himself four adrift by the time play was suspended due to unrelenting rain with the final group on the seventh green.
However, Koepka would return to face a par putt from 12 feet while Rahm had a birdie attempt from slightly closer, meaning a two-shot swing was possible.
Rahm had no complaints about the timing of the suspension, which came after he had dropped shots on the fourth and fifth.
“You can’t really say it was (too) late because I don’t blame them for wanting us to play as much as possible,” the former US Open champion said.
“It was just too bad I couldn’t save at least one par on four or five, but I made a great swing on six and two great swings on seven so I’m feeling confident, playing good golf and there’s a lot to be played.”
US Amateur champion Sam Bennett was three strokes behind Rahm on six under par, while Tiger Woods had slumped to last place of the 54 players who made the cut after covering his first seven holes of round three in six over.
Quote of the day
Sandy Lyle is playing in his last Masters. He was on the 18th green when play was suspended on Friday, so he had to come back Saturday to finish things off. How’d he prep for his final two putts?
“A lot of tequila — and a bit of whiskey tasting at about 1 o’clock this morning.” pic.twitter.com/E5IzHIPVYP
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) April 8, 2023
Sandy Lyle reveals how he prepared for ending his career with two putts from 12 feet on the 18th green on Saturday morning.
Shot of the day
Collin Morikawa moves into solo third with a birdie at No. 4. #themasters pic.twitter.com/0CcwYWzybq
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2023
In the cold, damp conditions, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa needed a fairway wood to reach the par-three sixth, but hit a stunning shot to set up a birdie.
Round of the day
Low round of the day so far at #theMasters@MattFitz94 is 3-under thru 9 despite tough conditions ☔️ pic.twitter.com/kzVaTSjs5h
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 8, 2023
Clearly not a full round due to the suspension in play, but US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick made a big move through the field with three birdies and eight pars in 11 holes.
Statistic of the day
Tiger Woods: 1st time in Masters career with back-to-back double bogeys or worse (1,735th hole played)
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 8, 2023
Tiger Woods made a record-equalling 23rd straight cut in the Masters, but may have been wishing he had not bothered after a nightmare in round three.
Easiest hole (round incomplete)
Despite being lengthened by 35 yards this year, the par-five 13th played the easiest during round three as 13 birdies and just two bogeys resulted in an average of 4.633.
Hardest hole
The easiest hole was immediately followed by the hardest, the 14th yielding just three birdies and playing to an average of 4.519.
Weather forecast
Mist or drizzle may linger through mid-morning with cloudy skies. Dry conditions finally return late Sunday morning, with overcast skies becoming partly cloudy during the afternoon.
Tee times
Play in the third round is scheduled to resume at 1330BST. The final round is expected to begin four hours later.
