Saturday, late afternoon. There are not even three rounds completed, the alarms to vacate the field sounded for the third time in two days, LIV Golf Tour player Brooks Koepka leads the charge and Tiger Woods collapses in third round. The Masters Tournament is second to none and the final hours are proof of that.
It’s raining. It rains a lot in Augusta. Some would even call the Shepherdess. The organizers instead called for calm on Saturday afternoon at 3:15 p.m.
The course superintendents sounded their blue horns to signal the end of the activities, in the middle of the third round.
The day had started under the tears of the clouds, early Saturday, because some golfers had to finish their second round, interrupted the day before due to winds and rain.
At the stroke of 11:30 a.m., the third round began.
However, the rain never wanted to stop. All the players walked around under umbrellas. The greens were extremely wet, to the point of becoming impassable, even though the machines to dry them were working at maximum.
Artificial lakes have formed on the majority of the greens and the organizers had no choice but to send all golfers back to their rented accommodations until Sunday. Some golfers will have to play 30 holes on Sunday. Especially since the weather radars predict beautiful conditions.
Only nine holes were played on Saturday morning, but despite the bad weather, golfers entertained the bravest amateurs.
Jon Rahm was three shots behind point guard Brooks Koepka when play was stopped on Friday.
In the rain and gray skies, Rahm was amazing. The bad weather did not seem to disturb the Spaniard’s game in any way. He started his round with a save at 11th and a birdie at 12th.
He also saved his life on the 13th with a very long putt for par. It was time for the ball to hit the hole. The greens, wet and slower, have changed the game for golfers. Rahm needed three putts to complete the par-3 on the 16th hole.
Nevertheless, the bearded man isn’t the best player around the greens for nothing. In the 17th, he used his putter, from the frieze, to achieve a birdie. Rahm, on one of the most difficult holes on the course, gave the impression of playing Fabreville minigolf because he was so comfortable in these exceptional conditions.
He finished his round with a bogey, but was still just one stroke off the lead at -11.
The point guard, Brooks Koepka, was fresh as a rose. He had time to complete his second round on Friday morning and only played again Saturday at 1:06 p.m.
Even though a gray cloud has been hovering over his head since 2020, Koepka seemed like the only one playing in different conditions, on different ground.
The quadruple champion in major tournaments did not force the note. He played cleanly, limiting the risks and making sure to reach the greens in prescribed strokes. His shot is good and pure and he was at -1, thanks to a birdie on the accessible second hole, when play stopped. He points to the top thanks to a cumulative score of -13, after six holes.
As for him, Rahm decided to take a rougher route. After a birdie, also on the second, he got tangled up on the fourth and fifth holes with two bogeys. The gap with Koepka is four strokes.
Amateur Sam Bennett, the third member of the top three, did something unusual. That is to say, make two bogeys, at the start of the round, moreover. He’s at 2 for the day, but still maintains his third-place spot at -6.
It was hard to believe when he struggled to put one foot in front of the other in the first round on Thursday, but Tiger Woods will definitely be making weekend rounds at the Masters.
Woods equaled a tournament record, resisting the ax for the 23rd time in a row. Only Gary Player and Fred Couples had achieved such a feat.
Woods had a lot to do to qualify. In fact, he had no room for error. Action resumed Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and he still had eight holes to play. He was then at 2, on the edge of the ax. When he returned to the game, in constant rain, the 47-year-old did what was necessary to survive.
On the 15th hole, he hit the yellow flag with his approach. His ball slipped on the green for a long time, but he still wedged a long putt for the birdie. This success allowed him to breathe a little.
Above all, it gave him a cushion for the holes to come. He nearly sabotaged himself, though, with an erratic tee shot in the 17th. The last two holes of the course, the two most difficult of the day, annoyed Woods. He finished his round with two bogeys for a cumulative 3.
To make sure not to leave Augusta prematurely, it was necessary that Sungjae Im or Justin Thomas also burst at 3, to raise the ax. With the golf gods bent on the five-time green jacket champion, Im turned in a 3 and Thomas followed suit, his good friend Woods, with two late-round bogeys to slide to a 4.
In hindsight, Woods might have preferred to miss said cut. His start to the third round is abominable. More than his early 2000s young rapper attire, which is saying something.
At the end of the activities, he was the last golfer in the standings, at 9, under a day where he played six shots over par. In fact, he misses more shots than he lands. His bullets landed in water, trees, thorns and long grass. After seven holes, it has a double bogey, three bogeys and three pars.
The most worrying thing is still his state of health. Woods is playing fewer and fewer tournaments and the current workload imposed by schedule changes seems too high for the battered champion.
Images of him limping late in the round are disturbing. His bag serves as a buoy to hold him and to stop him. If his condition does not improve, he could consider the package. However, he will have more than 15 hours to rest. One thing is certain, a Sunday without red at Augusta National would be a disappointment for all fans.
