After two days of bad weather, the 87th Masters began Sunday under sunny and dry -- but still chilly -- conditions with golfers completing the third round in the morning before starting the fourth and final round in the afternoon.
The Masters suspended play on Saturday after golfers endured 45 minutes of rain to wash out the rest of third round.
Brooks Koepka, who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV tour, began the day as the leader at 13 under par, but had a pair of bogeys as he completed his third round to fall to 11 under, two strokes ahead of Jon Rahm.
Tiger Woods, who was in last place, withdrew before play resumed on Sunday due to injury.
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Koepka's drive on No. 1 finds fairway ... on No. 9
Perhaps it was jitters, but current leader Brooks Koepka (-11) hooked his drive off of the first tee so far left that it landed on the fairway of the ninth hole, setting up a blind second shot over the tree line. Koepka recovered well, however, and took advantage of rain-soaked greens, with his second shot landing softly on the putting surface. Koepka's lengthy birdie putt set up an easy par tap-in, which is a fortuitous conclusion, all things considered.
John Rahm, in second at 9-under, misfired on his approach shot at No. 1, having it trickle right of the green. He nearly holed his chip, though eventually saved par.
Viktor Hovland, who also pushed his first drive well left, saved par on No. 1 and remains third at 8-under par.
Second-to-last pairing tees off, Hovland starts round in rough
In the second-to-last pairing to tee off in the final round, Viktor Hovland -- starting at 8-under par and needing to make a charge to catch leader Brooks Koepka (-11) and John Rahm (-9) -- blasted his driver on No. 1 left into the tree line where the patrons were gathered.
Jordan Spieth's final round has been marked by inconsistency. Through seven, he has posted three birdies, two bogeys and two pars. He is currently 2-under par, tied for 21st in the field.
Elsewhere, Sahith Theegala almost certainly won't be able to charge up to the top of the leaderboard, but he's finishing his round strong; Theegala has three birdies on the front nine to lower his score to 4-under par, tied for 8th place.
Tiger Woods withdraws from Masters due to injury
Tiger Woods said he was in "constant" pain during the 2023 Masters, but the pain became too much to bear. The five-time Masters champion withdrew from Augusta National before third-round play resumed on Sunday due to injury.
Woods finished the first 36 holes at 3-over on Saturday to make the cut for the 23rd consecutive time, tying the record shared by Gary Player and Fred Couples.
But he got off to a slow start to the third round on Saturday and was visibly in pain, laboring to walk in the cold and wet conditions. He recorded two bogeys and two double bogeys through seven holes, before play was suspended for the day at 3:15 p.m. ET due to a torrential downpour. He dropped to last place on Saturday at 6-over in the third round and 9-over for the tournament.
-- Cydney Henderson
Tee times set for Sunday's final round of the Masters at Augusta National
Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm will tee off in final grouping at 2:33 p.m. as the fourth round of the 87th Masters has begun.
Golfers returned to Augusta National early Sunday morning to complete the rain-delayed third round. Following a brief stoppage of play to reset the pin positions, the fourth round is now underway with players starting on the first and 10th tees.
Tee times for the third-round leaders:
- Group 11, 2:05 p.m.: Collin Morikawa (-4), a-Sam Bennett (-4)
- Group 12, 2:14 p.m.: Hideki Matsuyama (-5), Russell Henley (-5)
- Group 13, 2:24 p.m.: Viktor Hovland (-8), Patrick Cantlay (-6)
- Group 14, 2:33 p.m.: Brooks Koepka (-11), Jon Rahm (-9)
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Brooks Koepka begins Masters' final round with 2-shot lead
A bogey on the par-4 17th hole cut Brooks Koepka's lead to just two shots heading into the final 18 holes at the 87th Masters. Koepka had just saved par from the sand on 16 as Jon Rahm bogeyed to see his advantage grow to three shots.
But he gave the stroke back on 17 by three-putting as the field completed the rain-delayed third round early Sunday.
Koepka finished his 1-over round of 73 with a routine par on 18. Rahm also shot 73 as the two maintained their positioning from Round 2.
Viktor Hovland shot a 2-under 70 to finish three strokes off the lead. He'll be paired with Patrick Cantlay, who shot 4-under 68 to get to 6 under.
Koepka has had the 54-hole lead in three career major tournaments. He's won all three.
Viktor Hovland making morning charge
First-round co-leader Viktor Hovland of Norway struggled out of the gate in the third round, bogeying four of his first 10 holes. But he's making up for it in a big way with the round resuming Sunday morning.
Beginning on hole No. 11, Hovland strung together five consecutive birdies -- including a chip-in at the par-3 12th -- to move into sole possession of third place at 8 under for the tournament, four strokes behind leader Brooks Koepka.
Leaders hit Amen Corner in Round 3
A bogey on the par-3 12th hole dropped leader Brooks Koepka's lead to one stroke as the Masters leaders headed into Augusta National's most famous holes Sunday morning.
However, on the very next hole -- the par-5 13th -- Jon Rahm hit his layup shot in the far front of the green and three-putted for a bogey to drop him to 10 under. Koepka's two-putt par extended his lead back to two strokes.
Brooks Koepka's lead over Jon Rahm shrinks
Brooks Koepka opened the resumption of third-round play Sunday with a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole, but then went birdie, par and saved par on No. 10. Jon Rahm opened with birdies on No. 7 and the par-5 eighth and then parred the next two holes to trail Koepka by two through 10 on Sunday.
When will play resume on Sunday at the Masters?
Third round action resumed at Augusta National on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET. No player had completed their third round when play was called on Saturday. The fourth round is expected to begin later in the afternoon, around 12:30 p.m. ET.
How to watch the Masters on Sunday
Live coverage of the Masters will resume on CBS from 2-7 p.m. ET.
Featured groups and holes can be streamed via Masters.com and ESPN+. Streaming is also available via CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app, as well as through Paramount+.
Will weather be an issue on Sunday?
Weather has been a big story at the Masters, but there appears be a break on Sunday. The Weather Channel forecast calls for mostly cloudy or partly cloudy skies with only a 2% chance of precipitation. The temperatures were to be 45 as play resumed, with a high of 63 at 6 p.m. ET.
Play was called early on Friday and Saturday because of rain, and three trees came down on Friday, but no one was hurt. No precipitation is in the forecast for Monday, if play has to be extended to a fifth day.
A Brooks Koepka win could be nightmare for Augusta National's leaders
LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka is having himself quite a tournament at the Masters.
All this focusing on crashing trees, sodden grass and ominous skies seems to be prolonging the inevitable: what could be a day of great angst for the powers that be in men’s golf, the day when a man who was kicked off the PGA Tour last year for taking Saudi blood money dons a green jacket as the winner of the first major of the year.
Koepka, 32, still has 12 holes to play in the third round before a full 18 in the fourth round Sunday, but he certainly was in command Saturday with a four-stroke lead over Spain’s Jon Rahm. Koepka managed one birdie and five pars during the miserable cold and rain over his first six holes of the third round to reach 13-under-par for the tournament, four better than Rahm, who had a birdie, two bogeys and three pars.
-- Christine Brennan
Masters prize money
This year, the total purse of the 2023 Masters is $18 million, up $3 million from last year.
The winner will take home $3.24 million. Last year's winner Scottie Scheffler collected $2.7 million for his three-shot win over Rory McIlroy.
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