Jon Rahm Closes in on Brooks Koepka After Rainy Second-Finish at the Masters

Unfavorable conditions didn’t help some players during Saturday’s delayed finish to the second round, but Rahm prevailed while Tiger made the cut.

AUGUSTA, Ga.—Cold and rainy conditions made play difficult during Saturday’s resumption of the second round of the 2023 Masters, with Brooks Koepka firmly ensconced at 12-under-par and holding a two-shot lead over Spain’s Jon Rahm at the halfway point of the first major of the year.

Amateur Sam Bennett, a 23-year-old from Texas A&M, sits comfortably in third place, four shots behind Koepka at 8-under-par. Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and Norway’s Viktor Hovland are both six shots back at 6-under.

Koepka, a four-time major winner, finished his round in the sunshine Friday before a weather delay forced a postponement and eventual suspension of play with 39 players still on the course.

Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, played the entire back nine Saturday in the rain and cold temps. Starting the day three shots back of Koepka, the Spaniard made three birdies and two bogeys in the slop to find himself in the Masters final group for the first time since 2020.

The drama came at the end of the round, when Tiger Woods dropped two shots over the last two holes to fall below the 2-over cut line, but the difficult conditions eventually forced the cutline of 50 players and ties to 3-over and opened the door for Woods. He made his record 23rd consecutive Masters cut, tying Gary Player and Fred Couples who also made the cut at 1-over.

Fifty three players made the cut, while some notable players did not, including Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson.