Masters dealing with inclement weather; second round twice suspended

The 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club has not gone off without a hitch. 

Play was suspended Friday at 3:07 p.m. ET due to inclement weather, and the grounds were evacuated.

Play resumed at 3:38 p.m. after just a 21-minute delay but was suspended once again at 4:22 p.m. 

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Tee times for the second round were moved up by 30 minutes due to the weather threat. 

LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka is in the lead after shooting a 5-under 67 Friday and is 12-under par for the tournament. 

Behind Koepka sits the world’s third-ranked golfer, Jon Rahm, and amateur Sam Bennett.

On Thursday, Koepka shot a 65, finishing his round with two birdies. 

“Love to finish with two birdies like that,” Koepka said after the round. “Just kind of hopefully ride that into tomorrow. You know, putting good, driving it well, just kind of build off all those things, and get myself, you know, in contention with nine to go on Sunday. That’s the whole goal.”

Koepka has said in the past he only cares about winning golf’s major tournaments and said Thursday there is a difference in how he prepares for majors compared to regular tournaments. 

“I think there’s definitely a difference,” Koepka said. “There’s a difference in kind of my demeanor. Everybody on my team behind the scenes says they can see from the moment we land at a major, here at Augusta, I get kind of quiet. I’m very – I’m not talking. I’m very focused, disciplined, driven.

“There’s only really a couple things I care about … going to work out and going to play golf, and that’s it when we’re here. And nothing else really matters. It’s full focus on this and trying to walk out of here with a green jacket.”