Five weekend storylines to watch at The Masters

Danielle Parhizkaran / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bad weather in Augusta is making for an interesting start to The Masters.

The Masters nearly made it through two full rounds before weather ultimately suspended play on Friday afternoon.

The leaderboard is loaded with star power. An amateur is making the biggest climb up the Augusta National leaderboard in decades, and Tiger Woods is fighting for a record-tying made cut with a few holes left. So there’s plenty to focus on even though Saturday’s conditions could get ugly.

Here’s a look at some storylines to watch as play picks up on Saturday morning.

Bad weather makes Saturday’s play completely unpredictable

Friday’s play at Augusta was suspended late afternoon due to high winds, driving rains, and thunderstorm conditions. A trio of trees even fell over near the 17th tee box just before the day’s play was ultimately called off. Thankfully, according to a release from Augusta National, nobody was hurt.

On the golf front, there are still 12 groups of players left on the course who have yet to complete the second round. Plenty of those competitors are either in contention for the lead, like Jon Rahm or Viktor Hovland, or fighting to make the cut, like Tiger Woods and Talor Gooch. Play resumes at 8 a.m. Saturday morning with plenty on the line.

Unfortunately for the groups finishing up second-round play, Saturday’s weather is expected to be cold, rainy, and miserable. Most of the day is forecasted to feature rain with a high of only 52 degrees. Potentially the only perk is playing a wetter and softer course that could help on some of Augusta’s fast-and-slippery greens. The weather will mentally challenge some of the players who dislike being in these types of conditions.

The Saturday weather isn’t limited to the second round. These conditions will carry over into the third round if play accelerates through the day with no suspensions. Augusta National could also be forced into additional scheduling adjustments if the rain becomes too heavy during Saturday’s play.

Either way, expect a significantly different day of golf on Saturday than we’ve seen so far in the tournament.

Tiger Woods still has work to do to make his Masters record-tying cut

Seven holes of par golf. That’s the result it will likely take for Tiger Woods to make a record-tying 23rd consecutive cut at The Masters on Saturday morning. Since turning professional during the fall of 1996, Woods has never missed a cut at Augusta National.

Currently sitting on the cutline at +2 through 11 holes, Woods will have to grind to make it to the finish line. The cool, wet conditions expected on Saturday could be impactful on Woods trying to stay at his physical best during a tournament in which he already looks tired walking a long-and-hilly course.

To the benefit of Tiger, he has two par fives to play (13 and 15), which could position him with two birdie opportunities to help his cause down the stretch. But to begin the morning, Woods has a difficult first shot at the dreaded par-3 12th hole at Augusta – one of the more daunting shots in golf.

It’ll be a fascinating sprint to the finish to see if Woods can tie his friend and mentor Fred Couples and Gary Player atop the Augusta National record books. Woods making the cut, and extending play into the final two rounds, would add to his incredible Augusta epilogue coming off of his 2021 car accident.

Brooks Koepka attempts to close after an incredible start

Not many people predicted this kind of start from Brooks Koepka.

The four-time major champion made his mark during a destructive three-year run that saw him win back-to-back U.S. Opens and back-to-back PGA Championships from 2017 through 2019. The latest version of Koepka, at least in terms of general public perception, was that of a washed-up former champion who scurried away to an easy paycheck with LIV Golf.

Through two rounds this week, Koepka has shown flashes of his brilliance. After posting an opening 65 for a share of the lead, Koepka followed that up with another brilliant -5 performance on Friday to put him at -12 overall for the championship.

With a (current) three-stroke lead over Jon Rahm, and an even more sizable advantage over the general field, Koepka’s opening flurry was reminiscent of his 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. A similar -12 start saw Koepka open up a seven-stroke lead on the field before capturing his fourth major.

Although Koepka is going to have stiffer (and closer) competition the final two rounds, the incredible start can’t be overlooked for a former major champion known for delivering an early blow.

Can reigning U.S. Amateur Champion Sam Bennett stay in contention?

The stellar play of Sam Bennett continued through Friday’s second round. The Texas A&M senior and reigning U.S. Amateur Champion touched solo 2nd place on the leaderboard thanks to another steady -4 to put him at -8 overall.

Paired with world No. 1 and defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and one of the hottest players in the world, Max Homa, Bennett soundly outplayed his professional group mates through 36 holes at Augusta thanks to confidence and a notable display of course management.

Astoundingly, Bennett only has one bogey through two rounds. But can he continue the historic start?

Bennett pounded fairways (93 percent through two rounds) and greens (73 percent through two rounds) at an above-average rate compared to the field the first two days. But below-average distance off the tee for the week is something that could hurt Bennett if the course gets softer and allows for less runouts thanks to the expected weather.

Nobody would blame Bennett for showing his experience at any point during the weekend. But for an amateur to have a chance to play in the final group during the weekend at Augusta would be a really fun change of pace.

A loaded leaderboard remains to challenge Brooks Koepka

It might feel like Brooks Koepka has a firm grasp of the lead at this point. Given the weather and loaded leaderboard, it would be silly to proclaim any sort of champion with so much golf left to play.

The Masters leaderboard continues to feature former major winners and top-20 players in the OWGR. There’s still a chance former world No. 1 Jon Rahm makes a climb to capture Koepka by the end of round two. Meanwhile, former major winners like Collin Morikawa (-6), Jason Day (-5) and Jordan Spieth (-5) are still well within striking distance with 36+ holes left.

If there’s even a slight mishap from Koepka during an unpredictable Saturday, there are plenty of notable suitors waiting to pounce. It should make for a riveting weekend of golf.