Koepka extends Masters lead before rain stops play
Brooks Koepka extended his lead at the Masters to four shots over Spain's world number three Jon Rahm on Saturday before third-round play at soggy Augusta National was suspended for the day due to heavy rain. With puddles forming on the greens and players battling hard against conditions more akin to a British Open, organisers decided to leave the remainer of the contest for Sunday. In wet, cold and windy conditions, players huddled under umbrellas in between shots and Tiger Woods wore a woollen hat over the top of his baseball cap. "It's obviously super difficult. Ball's not going anywhere," said Koepka, who played his six holes of round three at one-under. "You've got rain to deal with, and it's freezing cold. It doesn't make it easy. You've got to make some pressure putts. You know it was going to be a difficult day. You've just got to grind through it and try to salvage something." The weather forecast for Sunday is positive with temperatures expected to rise to above 15.5 degrees Celsius and much less chance of rain. With the leading pair having completed six holes, there is confidence the tournament can finish as scheduled by completing the final 30 on Sunday. A total of 39 players, Rahm among them, had returned on Saturday morning to finish their second rounds, interrupted by stormy weather on Friday. The Spaniard cut Koepka's lead down to two strokes before third-round play got under way. Rahm and Koepka both made birdies on the par-5 second but bogeys on the par-3 fourth and par-four fifth from the Spaniard left Koepka with his four-shot gap. Koepka, at 13-under par, was on the green at the seventh hole with an 11-foot par putt when play was halted while Rahm, on 9-under, had a nine-foot birdie putt. Amateur Sam Bennett was in third place on the leaderboard, having bogeyed the par-5 second, seven strokes behind Koepka as he bids to become the first amateur to win the Masters. (AFP)