Brook Koepka leads on 12 under after his second-round 67 on Friday, with Jon Rahm two back after battling tough conditions on Saturday morning; Tiger Woods makes 23rd consecutive cut and equals record at The Masters; watch all weekend live on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 8 April 2023 17:03, UK
Jon Rahm moved within two shots of Brooks Koepka at the halfway stage at The Masters, as Tiger Woods snuck through on the cut-mark at Augusta National.
Rahm was among 39 players who returned in cold and wet conditions to complete their second rounds on Saturday morning, after storms and fallen trees had seen play suspended the previous day at 4.22pm (9.22pm BST).
The world No 3 came back to make three birdies and two bogeys in torrid weather to post a three-under 69 and close the gap on clubhouse leader Koepka, who had set the target at 12 under with a bogey-free 67 the previous day.
Rahm - resuming from the 10th - started with successive pars and rolled in a 10-foot birdie at the par-three 12th, then got within one of Koepka when a brilliant pitch set up a close-range birdie at the 15th.
He responded to three-putting from 80 feet at the 16th to hole from the fringe to birdie the par-four next, only to bogey the last and slip back to 10 under.
Amateur Sam Bennett sits in third after his second-round 68 on Friday, while Viktor Hovland closed out a one-over 73 to sit tied-fourth on six under with two-time major champion Collin Morikawa.
The 15-time major champion also returned early on Saturday morning to play his final seven holes, with Woods securing a record-equalling 23rd cut at The Masters and moving to tied-49th despite finishing a one-over 73 with successive bogeys.
Woods fired his opening shot of the day to within eight feet at the 12th but was unable to convert his birdie try, with the former world No 1 failing to take advantage of the par-five next before scrambling from the back of the 14th green to get up and down to save par.
The 47-year-old moved back under par for his round when he drained a 25-foot birdie at the par-five 15th, having hit the pin with his pitch shot, before holing from eight feet to save par at the next after misjudging his initial long-range putt.
Woods failed to get up and down from short of the green to bogey the 17th and slip back to two over, then hit a poor drive into the pines and two-putted from 50 feet for a dropped shot at the last that briefly moved him outside the cut mark.
The five-time Masters champion was left to wait on the final groups to finish to see whether he would progress, with late bogeys by Justin Thomas and Sungjae Im bringing Woods back in and ensuring he maintains his record of never missing the cut at Augusta as the professional.
"I've always loved this golf course and I love playing this event," Woods said "Obviously I've missed a couple with some injuries, but I've always wanted to play here. I've loved it."
Thomas also bogeyed the par-four last to miss the cut on four over, having been on two under with eight holes to play, with Rory McIlroy a further stroke back as he saw his Grand Slam hopes ended with a second-round 77 on Friday.
Fred Couples became the oldest player in history to make the cut at The Masters, with the 63-year-old through on one over after a second-round 74, while Sandy Lyle returned to sign off his final round at Augusta with a bogey-five and 11-over 83.
"It's a shame we didn't get a chance to finish yesterday, but that's just the way it is," Lyle said. "I needed about another 30 seconds probably and I would have had the chance to hit the putt."
The third round will be played in threesomes and off a two-tee start, as tournament organisers try to get the tournament back on schedule with further bad weather expected on Saturday afternoon.
Watch The Masters throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Sky Sports Golf, with extended coverage and bonus feeds available all weekend via the red button.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
