AUGUSTA, GA. – One of the first things you notice, when you watch championship golf in person, is that so many of the players are smallish. Short, or skinny, or both. They generate tremendous power and speed with refined technique and quick-twitch muscles, but they hardly resemble premier athletes in so many other sports.
Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm flexing at Masters
Two powerful players are set for a long Sunday showdown at Augusta National.
April 8, 2023 at 11:10PM
Sunday at the Masters, big shoulders will be on display. Brooks Koepka is a power lifter who leans forward and flexes his massive arms during news conferences. Jon Rahm is built like a shot-putter. While golf often tests brain more than biceps, Koepka and Rahm look prepared to wage a heavyweight fight, no matter how long it takes.
Heavy rains and saturated greens caused play to be suspended Saturday afternoon. The tournament was also suspended Friday afternoon, when high winds toppled a tree near the 17th tee at Augusta National Golf Club.
The second round was completed Saturday morning, and Koepka and Rahm were playing the seventh hole of their third round Saturday afternoon when play was suspended until Sunday. Augusta National suddenly had more lakes than Minnesota.
The third round will resume at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when clear skies are expected. The final round is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Central time.
Rahm and Koepka likely will play 29 holes head-to-head on Sunday as both try to win their first Masters.
Never before had two players reached double figures under par after two rounds before Koepka and Rahm did it this week.
They're both power hitters who have won majors. Until this week, they didn't seem to have much else in common.
Koepka, an American who grew up playing baseball and doesn't seem to care much for golf unless he's winning at it, has already reached what was likely his career peak, winning four majors from 2017-19. Following a gruesome knee injury and a transition to the LIV golf tour, he is contending for the first time since 2021, when he finished in the top 10 in every major but the Masters, where he missed the cut.
Rahm, a Spaniard and golf historian, won the 2021 U.S. Open. While he has remained one of the top-ranked golfers in the world, that triumph did not springboard him to dominance that has long been predicted for perhaps the world's most well-rounded golfer.
Koepka chose LIV riches, and guaranteed money, and an easier schedule, while Rahm said he never considered leaving the PGA Tour. This week, Koepka said he might not have left for LIV had he known he could recover completely from his knee injury and compete at the highest level.
Facing Rahm on Sunday at the Masters is the highest level a LIV golfer can attain.
When play was suspended, Koepka was 13 under, four shots ahead of Rahm. In third place was the third in their threesome, amateur Sam Bennett, at 6 under. Patrick Cantlay, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Colin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland were at 5 under.
"Well, it looks like it's good weather tomorrow,'' Rahm said. "So we're going to have good weather conditions and most likely a soft golf course.''
That could lead to a spectacular day of golf. When the course was soft and receptive on Thursday, three players, including Rahm, shot 65. Koepka and Rahm have the power to reach all four par 5s, and have been the best players in the field on par 5s this week, so the Masters could get what it craves — big names trying to make eagles on the back nine on Sunday, bringing water and history into play.
"I'm not too concerned about playing 29 holes or however many holes we've got left,'' Koepka said. "It's part of the deal. I'm pretty sure I'll be up for it, considering it is the Masters. So I don't think anybody should have a problem with that.
"Obviously, it's super difficult. Ball's not going anywhere. 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 knew it was going to be a difficult day. You've just got to grind through it and salvage something.''
Sunday, Koepka and Rahm will play for the green jacket, and it doesn't look like they'll need it to be waterproof.
Frankie Capan III, who will be playing on the PGA Tour next year, finished at 13 under par at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.
