amid suspensions, Koepka is the firm leader

Augusta, Georgia -Special Envoy- The third round of the 87th edition of the Masters has just been suspended For today. The rain does not breathe this weekend in Augusta and this will force us to play again tomorrow in groups of three players and, when the third round is completed, to go out simultaneously through hole 1 and hole 10. Brooks Koepka, a kind of prodigal son in the Majors, is back in front, for the first time in a Masters, with an extraordinary game. With initial rounds of 65 and 67, and after the first 6 holes of the third, andHe is at -13 leading by 4 strokes over the Spanish Jon Rahm (-9). Sam Bennett, the fan who is the surprise in this Masters, is third with -6.

Definitely The Bennett thing is an incredible story. Nothing more appropriate in Augusta than an amateur at the top of the Masters. Bobby Jones would be proud. Bennett was invited to play this Masters for being the champion of the US Amateur Championship. With absolute ease and a solid game, he began the Masters with two remarkable rounds of 68 strokes that placed him in third place with a total of 136 strokes (-8). This Saturday, this 23-year-old from Texas, he had the high honor of playing in the last outing alongside the tournament leaders. Nerves played a trick on him at the beginning, making bogeys on the first two holes. But at -6 he maintains third place.

Member of a family of athletes, he always excelled in basketball, baseball, tennis and golf, choosing the latter as his great sport. His father fell ill when he entered university and finally died in 2021. Bennett’s is a story of effort and sacrifice and, whatever the result he obtains in this Masters, he is already undoubtedly a winner.

In 1956 amateur Ken Venturi made 66 on the first lap, leading by one stroke over Cary Middlecoff. In the second round he made 69 and with -7 he was first by four shots. Advantage that he maintained until the beginning of the fourth lap. He ended up losing by one shot to Jack Burke.

Speaking of fans, Argentine Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira ended his historic participation in the Masters today. “This has been extraordinary, I cannot explain the amount of teaching that this week at Augusta National has taught me,” said Mateo. at the end of his second round, which was suspended this Friday when he still had to complete the last six holes of the course. He finished with a total of 151 punches (+7). This will be a year of great importance for this young man from San Isidro, in the province of Buenos Aires. Thanks to his triumph in the Latin American Amateur Championship (LAAC), Mateo received invitations to play the US Open, to be held at the Los Angeles Country Club, in mid-June, and the Open Championship to be played at Royal Liverpool in July . This scenario has enormous significance for Argentina because it was the venue where in 1967, the master Roberto De Vicenzo won the Open Championship. Hopefully the memory of that enormous gentleman and great golfer will serve as an inspiration for Mateo when he plays the Open.

Brooks Koepkatalented and young He rose high in world golf after winning four major championships in just two years. He seduced everyone. “It’s not hard to win Majors,” he said, and concluded: “Half of your rivals have already lost before standing on the tee of hole 1.”

His four Major victories, two in a row at the US Open in 2017 and 2018, and two in a row at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019, were earned between June 2017 and May 2019. He was nicknamed “Mister Major” by the media. But suddenly his body rebelled. Knees, neck, ankle, wrists and hip. That affected his game a lot and took away his confidence. For someone with such high self-esteem that was a big problem.

Exactly one year ago, Koepka was sitting in the house he had rented here in Augusta. He had just finished his first round in the Masters. He was pretty demoralized, he had scored a 75 (+3). His girlfriend Jena Sims and his friend Dan Gambill were there. There were also the Netflix cameras to film an episode of the Full Swing series. Koepka didn’t care who was listening, saying, “I can’t keep racing these guys week after week.” In the second round he played badly again, scored another 75 and missed the cut. “I felt so embarrassed, never in 32 years have I felt embarrassed walking off a golf course.” He was lost in the greatest darkness. “When you master golf it seems to you that you will never lose it. And now that I lost it, I have the feeling that I will never get it back. And she would talk about how important it had been for him to savor the victories and he couldn’t imagine a life without it. “It’s all I want, it’s that simple, win or go home”

In the middle of his decline she married Sims and joined the LIV, with a contract of 100 million dollars for a term of 4 years.

At the end of 2022 he began to feel better. Last week he won at the LIV Golf Orlando. That was his second victory in the LIV in six tournaments played.

In this Masters Koepka has been extraordinary. Playing well, he is one of those players who makes the difficult easy. With a majestic long game he destroyed Augusta’s par 5s in the first two rounds, riding them at -8. On the second day he didn’t make a single bogey.

Koepka is back on form and may well be thinking that a move to LIV might not have been a good idea. At least that’s how it has come out unofficially.

Last year, after two rounds, Koepka was +6 and out of the tournament. Now, after the suspension of the third round, he has played 6 holes in the third round and with -13 he is the leader by 4 strokes, becoming the strongest candidate to win this Masters.

This Sunday morning, very early and with a slightly more encouraging prognosis, the third round will be completed and the final will begin. To wait then.