AUGUSTA, Ga. — Moving day at the Masters was mostly about everyone leaving the course earlier than hoped for.
A cold, relentless rain was too much for Augusta National to handle, leading to one of the earliest finishes for a Saturday at the Masters — just 15 minutes after the CBS telecast came on the air — and setting up a marathon finish for Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and anyone able to catch them.
Koepka, the 32-year-old from Florida seeking a fifth major championship to go with two wins each at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, began the third round with a two-shot lead over Rahm. He extended it to four shots when the 28-year-old Spaniard and 2021 U.S. Open champ made consecutive bogeys. They made it to the seventh green, already filled with tiny pools of water, before play was suspended for the day.
The round was to resume at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by another two-tee start.
Tiger Woods was relieved to make the cut — his 23rd in a row at the Masters, tying the tournament record held by Fred Couples and Gary Player — and then looked as though he couldn’t get off the course fast enough after making back-to-back double bogeys for the first time ever at Augusta National. The five-time Masters winner was in last place, 22 shots behind.