AFP
Jon Rahm pulled within two strokes of leader Brooks Koepka as the third round of the Masters resumed Sunday at rain-softened, cold Augusta National.
Rahm began the morning by sinking a nine-foot birdie putt at the par-4 seventh hole while Koepka curled an 11-foot par putt beyond the hole, his first stumble after 29 holes in a row without a bogey.
Koepka kept at the top on 12-under with Rahm charging to 10-under, trimming half his overnight deficit.
A marathon last-day drama was poised to unfold under the towering Georgia pines with Koepka chasing his fifth major title, third-ranked Rahm seeking his second and both hunting a first green jacket.
An additional sub-plot to the final day duel is that Koepka plays on the Saudi-backed upstart series LIV Golf while Spaniard Rahm has stayed loyal to the PGA Tour.
Heavy rain forced a suspension of play Saturday, water puddling on the famed undulating greens, with Koepka setting the pace on 13-under and Rahm four adrift after bogeys at the par-3 fourth and par-4 fifth holes.
Koepka and Rahm appeared set for a head-to-head duel over 30 holes, with their nearest rival being US Amateur champion Sam Bennett in third on 6-under. No one else was within eight strokes of the overnight lead.
With clear but sometimes windy conditions expected, the third round was set to finish in the morning and twosomes planned off split tees in the afternoon final round with plans to complete the year’s first major tournament before sundown.
Koepka, a winner of last week’s Orlando LIV event, seeks his first major title since the 2019 PGA Championship and a Masters triumph would leave him only a British Open Claret Jug shy of completing the career Grand Slam.
Breakaway LIV Golf lured several big names from the PGA Tour last year with record $25 million purses from 54-hole events, sparking the PGA to ban LIV players from its events. The PGA-LIV fight is set for a court date early next year.
Major tournaments allow LIV players who qualify to compete, setting up PGA-LIV showdowns this year on golf’s grandest stages.
In the meantime, LIV events do not bring players Official World Golf Rankings points. That’s part of why Koepka has fallen to 118th in the world and would be the lowest-rated Masters champion since the system began in 1986.
A victory by Koepka would bring a credibility boost for LIV after critics questioned how competitive golfers would be in majors playing LIV’s shorter events with smaller fields.
The Masters champion will pocket a record top prize of $3.24 million from a record $18 million purse, less than the $4 million Koepka won from last week’s $25 million LIV Orlando victory.
The green jacket, however, brings with it a life exemption into the Masters and berths in the other three majors. Koepka’s exemptions from the 2019 PGA are to expire after next year.
Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion who already has three PGA triumphs this year, is trying to win his first Masters exactly 40 years after his idol, Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros, won the Masters.
Tiger Woods, who was limping as he made back-to-back double bogeys before play was halted Saturday, withdrew from the Masters on Sunday morning with a foot injury.
“I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis,” Woods tweeted.
The 15-time major winner had been forced to withdraw from his Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas last December due to the foot injury, but returned to share 45th in his PGA event at Riviera in February.
Woods remains nagged by severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 car crash.
By qualifying for the last two rounds, Woods matched the record of Fred Couples and Gary Player with 23 consecutive made cuts at the Masters.
It was the first time Woods has ever withdrawn from the Masters. He pulled out of last year’s PGA Championship after the third round with leg pain and withdrew from the 1995 US Open as an amateur after hurting his wrist blasting out of deep weeds.
