Brooks Koepka maintains lead after 54 holes

AUGUSTA, Ga. – In the Netflix show, “Full Swing,” Brooks Koepka shows off the four major championship trophies he’s won along with crystal for being World No. 1 in his trophy case.

“But I only put the big ones up there just to remind myself that’s there’s plenty more big ones to win,” Koepka said.

He admitted that he had the center of the display reserved for a particular trophy.

“Augusta is right in the center,” he said. “Just saying, that’s it.”

Koepka is 18 holes away from slipping into a green jacket and filling the hole in his trophy cabinet. It took two days to do so but the 32-year-old Koepka posted a 1-over 73 at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday morning for a 54-hole total of 11-under 205 and maintained his two-stroke lead over Spain’s Jon Rahm.

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In bone-chilling cold and steady rain, Koepka made a birdie at the second and five pars on Saturday afternoon before play was called for the day at the Monsoon Masters. Koepka, who began Sunday’s resumption of the third round at 8:30 a.m. at 13 under, held a four-stroke lead over Rahm when play resumed but that figure got sliced in half as Rahm made birdie at seven and Koepka made bogey. Both Koepka and Rahm made birdie at eight and Rahm cut the deficit to one when Koepka bogeyed No. 12. But then Rahm, who carded 73 in the third round, backtracked with a 3-putt bogey at 13 and a poor iron right of the 16^th green that dropped him back to 9-under 207. Koepka took three putts at 17, the first time he’d done so at the tournament to drop to 11 under. The third round was completed at 11:49 a.m.

Viktor Hovland is the only other player less than five strokes from the lead. The Norwegian chipped in for birdie at 12, the second of five straight birdies on the second nine that kept him in the Green Jacket hunt. He signed for 2-under 70 and a 54-hole total of 8-under 208.

5th straight birdie for Viktor Hovland.

Only 6 players in the history of #TheMasters have made 6+ in a row. Record is 7, by Tiger Woods in 2005 and Steve Pate in 1999.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 9, 2023

“Definitely coming in with some momentum off of that back nine. That was really nice,” Hovland said. “We’ve still got a lot of work ahead. I need to post a really good number later this afternoon.”