FIVE STORYLINES TO LOOK OUT FOR ON A WET & WINDY WEEKEND AT AUGUSTA

Mario Russo

A series of ongoing weather delays and numerous fallen trees would certainly help make the 87th edition of The Masters one of the most memorable of its kind.

While headline names such as John Rahm, Xander Shauffele and Justin Thomas inched closer to a competitive weekend of golf at Augusta National, course officials decided to suspend play and resume the second round Saturday morning at 8 ET.

No matter the round of golf set to open up Saturday at The Masters, the storylines surrounding the prestigious event continue to encapsulate Georgia’s grounds with every passing minute. With two days and a trio of rounds left to play, here are four storylines to monitor heading into a wet and windy weekend at Augusta.

Bennett Beware

Very few on the golf course, let alone in the world, have had a more significant 24-hours than the likes of Sam Bennett. Teeing up Thursday afternoon alongside the top-ranked golfer on the planet looks to be the least significant moment of Bennett’s young career, with the Texas A&M product not only under par, but overtop the majority of the field at The Masters.

Overnight, the 23 year-old has become a star, with his scorecard through two rounds of play legitimizing his peak interest at Augusta. With just a lonesome bogey on his Master’s resume, the reigning Ametuer Champion will look to ride his streaky play on moving day and use his top-ranked driving accuracy to help approach the finish line.

Currently sitting in third place with an eight under par scoreline, Bennett simply has nothing to lose - which will be a strength of his as he aims to dig into the four stroke lead of Brooks Koepka.

Rory’s Repugnant Round(s)

With a cut line projecting to sit at two over par, the career grand slam looks to be slammed shut on McIlroy before the weekend even begins at Augusta National. Slow starts have already been a commonality amongst the Northern Irishman’s resume this season and have even come to bite him during the Players Championship in early March.

McIlroy’s five-over par performance through his last two rounds of golf was highlighted by his inconsistencies around the greens, posting ten bogies and a double to help bury him on the leaderboards.

With slick conditions projecting to diminish the second-round scores tomorrow morning, McIlroy will be putting the ‘Amen’ into Amen's corner as a prayer remains all the 33 year-old has left to hold onto if he wishes to swing it for the slam once more.

Scottie’s Surge

It’s safe to say the title defense of Scottie Scheffler has yet to go according to plan so far at the 2023 Masters. Rewind the tape to last year’s action at Augusta and it would be a second-round triumph that helped pave the way towards Scheffler’s first win at Augusta National.

A three-over par performance during the middle round of this year’s Masters tournament has set the world number one eleven strokes off the pace and in dire need of a third-round finish with a mid-60’s score attached to it. Luckily for Scheffler, moving up the leaderboards is what he has done best throughout his young PGA Tour career and has even come all the way back to win a tournament after posting a second round score over par. The lonesome victory came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March of 2022 and with a less experienced Scheffler roaming the fairways.

This time around, It will be conquering the greens that must become a necessity for Scheffler If he wishes to contend for back-to-back Green Jackets later this weekend. A four put on the par-four ninth was the recipe for second-round disaster for Scottie earlier this afternoon and contributed mightily towards his dead-last rank in strokes gained putting.

Magic with the flatstick is all that Scheffler needs to surge his way towards the top of the leaderboards and with a pedigree like his, doing the job remains a lot easier than saying what needs to be done.

Mr. Major’s Magic

How do you go from villain to fan-favorite overnight? You do just about everything on the golf course right and strut the greens with quiet confidence. That has been exactly what Brooks Koepka has done throughout his Major career and it doesn't seem like it will be changing anytime soon.

Just a single bogey through 36 holes has enabled the LIV Golfer to soar atop the leaderboards at Augusta, with eleven birdies and an electric second-round eagle on the par-five eighth helping him close in on a first-career Green Jacket. The 32-year old came close in 2019 but finished the tournament second to the great Tiger Woods as a double-bogey at the par-three twelfth derailed his championship bid.

Four years and a league transition later and Koepka is back to his old Augusta self, ranking fourth in GIR (Greens In Regulation) and fresh off a clean card in Friday’s second-round action. Another clean scoreline can go a long way in helping Koepka get one arm into the Green Jacket as the tournament leader looks to remind the world of golf what it’s been missing over the years with two more days of dominance.