The 2023 Masters was suspended on Friday afternoon at Augusta National Golf Club, with the second round suspended until Saturday morning.
A total of 39 players of out of the 86 remaining in the field -- after Kevin Na and Will Zalatoris withdrew -- and still have to finish their second rounds. Some groups have just one hole to play, while other players have as many as nine holes left to go in Round 2.
The Masters second round will resume at 8 a.m. Eastern on Saturday morning, with players picking up exactly where they left off on the golf course when play was halted. Players will start from that spot in their round and play to completion. At least that's the schedule for now.
The Saturday weather forecast for Augusta National is not good. Rain is expected from the early morning hours on Saturday throughout the entire daylight hours. Rain is expected to be steady and heavy at times, with winds gusting significantly in the range of 25-35 mph.
The second round was completed just before 11 a.m. Eastern, and the third round will start at 11:30 a.m. with threesomes off the first and 10th tees.
Of course, any subsequent stoppage in play will mean extending out the Masters schedule. Depending on the weather and if it lives up to the forecast on Saturday and a potentially rainy Sunday, there is a realistic possibility of a Monday finish at the Masters for the first time since 1983.
Augusta National Golf Club will do what it can to bring the tournament to a conclusion on Sunday, but it relies on a good-sized window to complete the second round, which should take approximately two-and-a-half hours of play. After a cut is made, players will be regrouped. They could be grouped in threesomes for Saturday and Sunday, regardless of third-round scoring, and playing together in both the third and final rounds off the first and 10th tees. This will reduce the amount of playing time required to complete the tournament to approximately 10 hours.
The end result could be a marathon Sunday, unlike anything we've seen at the Masters in the modern era.
