Play halted in 87th Masters as Augusta National greens flood in deluge

The third round in the 87th Masters will be completed on Sunday morning after heavy rain forced play to be halted at 3.15pm local time on Saturday.

Patrons evacuate the grounds after play was suspended for the day due to weather conditions during the third round of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images.

It had been wet when 39 players returned at 8am on Saturday to complete their second circuits after a band of wet stuff swept into the Augusta area on Friday afternoon, forcing two separate suspensions.

The skies brightened a bit around lunchtime before the rain returned and a deluge over a couple of hours eventually flooded the greens.

Augusta National has a sub-air system and, though it helped get as much play as possible, there’s only so much that any green can take before becoming flooded.

Three-balls and a two-tee start had been implemented for the third round, with the leaders on the seventh hole when the call was made to halt the proceedings.

In UK time, the third round will resume at 1.30pm, with the final round, which will be a two-tee start in two-balls, expected to begin at 5.30pm.

The weather is set to improve on Sunday, meaning the season’s opening major should still be completed on schedule and not become the first edition since 1983 to spill over to Monday.

Sitting on 13-under when the action stopped, four-time major winner Brooks Koepka leads by four shots from Jon Rahm.