Lowry and Power chasing impressive Koepka as weather deteriorates at Augusta
Brooks Koepka of the United States speaks to members of the media during a press conference after his second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 7, 2023.
Shane Lowry and Seamus Power were left to chase down Brooks Koepka at the Masters as Rory McIlroy crashed out at halfway at Augusta National.
The Holywood star was destined to miss the halfway cut after a 77 left him on five over when play was suspended for the day with 40 players still to finish.
Augusta National confirmed that no injuries were reported after three trees were blown over to the left of the 17th shortly before play was suspended for the second time late in the afternoon due to an approaching thunderstorm.
"The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament will always be the top priority of the Club," Augusta National said in a statement. "We will continue to closely monitor weather today and through the tournament.
"The second round has been officially suspended for the rest of the day. Play will resume Saturday morning at 8:00 am EDT."
Brooks Koepka added a 67 to his opening 65 to lead on 12-under par with Spain's Jon Rahm his nearest rival, three shots behind after birdies at the eighth and ninth left him on nine-under with nine holes still to complete.
McIlroy carded a disappointing 77 to finish in five-over and immediately jetted home to Florida.
The world number two officially declined to speak to reporters after missing the cut for the second time in three years in his ninth attempt to complete the career grand slam.
Lowry was the leading Irish contender, tied for 10th on four-under-par through 13 holes when play was suspended at 4:22 pm and eventually called off for the rest of the day and cannot be discounted with cold, wet and windy weather forecast for the weekend.
Power was level for the day through 12 holes and tied 44th on one-over, a shot inside the projected cut, while amateur Matt McClean was destined to miss the weekend after rounds of 77 and 74 left him on seven-over.
A cold front swept through the course after play was suspended with the temperature plummeting from 28C to 18C
Lowry's putter had already gone cold and he cut a frustrated figure on the greens as he remained stuck on four-under-par.
The Clara man birdied the par-five second but bogeyed the short par-four third after chipping over the green and missing a seven-footer for par.
He got up and down for par at the fifth to remain four under, then rifled his tee shot to four feet at the par-three sixth to go one under for the day.
His frustration with the putter only grew with a series of near misses on the next six greens.
He shaved the hole from 19 feet for birdie at the seventh, missed a nine-footer for birdie at the eighth, a seven-footer at the ninth and a 15-footer at the 10th before failing with a four-footer for par at the 11th
He then fired a beautiful shot over the stick at the par-three 12th but left the green muttering as his 11-footer also failed to drop.
When he pulled his approach left of the par-five 13th, he chipped only to the fringe and walked away, shaking his head after his 20-foot birdie try shaved the hole.
He was in the middle of the 14th fairway when play was suspended as Power's approach to the 13th appeared to finish perilously close to Rae's Creek.
After struggling with the driver on day one, the West Waterford man missed just two of nine fairways in round two, making two birdies and two bogeys to share 44th on one-over par.
He got up and down from short of the green for birdie at the second but bogeyed the third after flying the green.
Like Lowry, he hit a sensational tee shot to five feet to set up a birdie two at the sixth but handed that shot back when he failed to get up and down from right of the 11th.
GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE MASTERS ON GOLF CHANNEL AND PEACOCK (SECOND ROUND)
On Advantage of Late/Early Wave
Brandel Chamblee: “When there’s weather that comes in this suddenly, this quickly. Think how nice the weather was for the guys who played early today and late yesterday. Heard a number of players who said they haven’t seen Augusta National this quiet, this soft…if they go out tomorrow, it’s going to be wet, there are going to be mud balls, they won’t be able to clean it…if Jon Rahm goes back out tomorrow and plays a course that is wet, soggy and muddy, it’s going to be very hard for him to cut into that three-shot deficit.”
On Weather
Paul McGinley: “This weekend is going to be more about the misses. It’s going to be a scrambling weekend…We’re going to have forties (temperature) in the morning. This is a golf course that’s going to radically change.”
On Brooks Koepka (-12, Leader)
Chamblee: “He hit so many shots in the last 36 holes that were spot-on…this is Brooks as good as we’ve ever seen him. He’s got it all. Plenty of power, plenty of precision…nobody can touch him…he has an imperturbability in major championships.”
On Jon Rahm (-9, 2nd through nine holes)
McGinley: “Absolute class. He looks absolutely focused. I’m so impressed with his shot making…I love to watch how comfortably he’s moving it right to left. It all looks in place.”
Chamblee: “He’s got the worse end of the draw. It’s going to be a real difficult conclusion to his round and it’s going to require a lot of patience. I feel like Jon Rahm plays his best golf when he’s chasing and Brooks Koepka plays his best when he’s leading. That’s the ultimate scenario…you couldn’t dream up two more macho guys to go mano a mano and throw haymakers out there.”
On Sam Bennett (-8, 3rd)
Chamblee on Sam Bennett: “You think of all the great amateurs that have played in the Masters. Johnny Miller, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods…Nobody’s done better than 13th place since then, and here we are, with Sam Bennett. A tremendous story.”
McGinley on Bennett and the current state of amateurs in golf: “What a Cinderella story…Have we ever been closer to an amateur winning one of these championships? Maybe we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”
Earlier this week, Live From aired Ryan Lavner’s feature piece on Sam Bennett and how the 2022 U.S. Amateur Champion overcame both the loss of his father to early onset Alzheimer’s and struggles with mental health.
