The looming final spherical of the Masters might be greater than a conflict of golf’s high gamers – it would even be a duel between the PGA and the insurgent LIV.
LIV breakaway Brooks Koepka is three strokes forward of PGA stalwart Jon Rahm, with the contenders seemingly destined to duel for the crown at Augusta Nationwide.
The information wasn’t so good for Australian contenders, who light within the appalling circumstances as driving rain and excessive winds pressured play to be suspended.
Jason Day is the main Australian, 9 photographs off the tempo in a five-way tie for eighth at 4 below with three-time champion Phil Mickelson, Cameron Younger, Justin Rose, Russell Henley and Joaquin Neimann.
British Open champion Cameron Smith (one below) and 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott (even par) each have 5 holes of their third rounds remaining.
The third spherical was suspended for the day with four-time main champion Koepka, seeking to strike a large blow for golf’s breakaway group, holding a four-shot lead over world No.Three Rahm.
Koepka moved to 13 below par via six holes, one below on the spherical, earlier than officers stopped play at water-logged Augusta.
Thirty-nine gamers, together with Rahm, had already returned early on Saturday morning to complete off their second rounds.
Unimaginable circumstances
Organizers then utilized a split-tee format with three-man teams for spherical three in determined hope of catching up.
However play finally needed to be deserted at 3.17pm native time when the greens grew to become saturated, leaving gamers dealing with a grueling Sunday schedule on the 12 months’s first main championship.
Koepka will return within the field seat after choosing up a birdie on the par-5 second gap, then making 4 successive pars as his chasers struggled to maintain up within the relentless rain.
Rahm briefly lower the deficit to 2 strokes till bogeys on three and 4 doubled Koepka’s benefit.
Recent off his victory eventually week’s LIV Golf Worldwide Orlando in Florida, Koepka has gone 29 holes with out making a bogey and is trying virtually unimaginable to chase down.
But when anybody is succesful, it’s Rahm, who has 9 holes remaining in his third spherical.
With 5 victories in his previous dozen worldwide begins, the Spaniard is the heavyweight the PGA Tour must fend off Koepka’s bid to be the primary participant from LIV to win a significant championship.
Former world No.1 Koepka hinted after the second spherical that he might not have defected to the Greg Norman-led, Saudi-backed circuit had he identified he was going to reprise the chic type of 2017 to 2019 when the American captured 4 majors.
Except for Rahm, Koepka’s subsequent closest pursuer is American beginner Sam Bennett at 5 below.
Like Koepka and Rahm, Bennett additionally has 12 holes of his second spherical remaining earlier than Sunday’s remaining spherical which is scheduled to start out at 12.30pm.
Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland are all 5 below and eight photographs adrift of Koepka.
World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler is one stroke additional again in a share of 14th with Kiwi Ryan Fox.
Tiger’s newest file
British Open champion Cameron Smith (one below) and 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott (even par) each have 5 holes of their third rounds remaining.
Tiger Woods made a record-equaling 23rd consecutive Masters lower on the quantity at three over earlier than collapsing within the third spherical.
Enjoying probably his last-ever Masters, 47-year-old Woods battled valiantly, strolling the hilly course on his rebuilt leg, to put up a steely second-round 73.
However successive double bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes of his third spherical despatched the five-time champion crashing to 9 over and final of the 54 gamers left within the subject.
Nonetheless, Woods joined Gary Participant (1959-82) and Fred {Couples} (1983-2007) within the file books with essentially the most consecutive Masters cuts made.
At 63, the 1992 champion {Couples} additionally penned one other piece of Masters historical past by turning into the oldest man to make the lower at Augusta.
– with AAP
