Despite what some may tell you, Brooks Koepka never left. Still, it sure feels like Koepka is "back" with his play through 36 holes at the 2023 Masters. Sitting in full control of the tournament heading into the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club, Koepka signed for rounds of 65-67 and holds a three-stroke lead over Jon Rahm, the latter of whom has his entire second nine to play early Saturday morning after Round 2 play was suspended due to inclement weather.
Running through major championships from 2017-19 and picking up four trophies along the way, the 32-year-old Floridian went onto find himself in the midst of a major drought by his standards. Out maneuvered by Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship before falling short at that year's U.S. Open and Open Championship, Koepka and his major acumen would take an even deeper blow in 2022.
But to suggest he fell from relevance is a stretch, one perhaps uttered more frequently of late given he switched golf leagues. Koepka is just six major championships removed from that duel on Kiawah Island where, if not for some poorly timed iron shots, his major tally would be five. He now looks to make amends with one arm already slipped into the green jacket.
In order to do so, it will not be Mickelson whom Koepka will need to fend off but rather one of Lefty's good friends, Rahm. The Spaniard sits just three strokes off the pace set by Koepka with nine holes still to play in his second round. Carding late birdies to push his name immediately behind that of Koepka on the leaderboard, Rahm is letting the wider golf world know loud and clear he still believes to be the best in the world.
After a sizzling start to 2023, Rahm's quality dropped ever so slightly when the PGA Tour began its Florida Swing. With Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy rounding into form, it was the Spaniard -- yes, the man with three wins to his name already this PGA Tour season -- who all of a sudden became the forgotten man.
Forgotten no more. A winner at the 2021 U.S. Open, Rahm has the quality, pedigree and fire to burn Koepka's bid for major No. 5 to the ground. He is Koepka's greatest threat at this point but is nevertheless miles away from being the best potential story at this year's Masters.
Behind the two pros lies reigning U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett of Texas A&M. Despite his amateur status, Bennett came into the week with eyes on a prize larger than that of low-amateur honors. Truly believing he can contend on golf's biggest stage, Bennett has been proven correct at least through 36 holes as he sits 8 under, four back of Koepka. No amateur has ever won a green jacket, through three have finished runner-up at the tournament, the last being Charlie Coe in 1961.
Round 2 resumes at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Here is the breakdown of the top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Masters.
2023 Masters leaderboard breakdown
1. Brooks Koepka (-12): It isn't supposed to look this easy, but for Koepka it has been. If there was a blueprint on how to play Augusta National, Koepka followed it to a tee Friday. Playing the par 5s in 5 under and the other 14 holes in even par, the former world No. 1 will look for more of the same over the final 36 holes. Despite his major championship chops, Koepka's final round performances in his latest title runs do leave the door ajar for someone else to walk through. The suspect play began with his victory at the 2019 PGA Championship and has been present ever since. Maybe it will matter, maybe it won't -- like at Bethpage Black.
2. Jon Rahm (-9): The Spaniard was not driving the ball quite as effectively in the early goings of Round 2 but caught a little fire out of the first weather delay. Making back-to-back birdies on the 8th and 9th, Rahm inched his way closer to Koepka by the time he walked to the second nine. If he can grab a few more coming home early Saturday, he would put a little distance between the two major champions and potentially turn this bad boy into a two-horse race.
3. Sam Bennett [a] (-8): The chip on Bennett's shoulder may rival that of Koepka. Coming into the week, Bennett was flying under the radar of prognosticators as world No. 1 Gordon Sargent caught attention with his baffling swing speed and booming drives. This was not lost on the Aggies star as he has used this (and much more) as motivation for a potentially record-setting first two days around Augusta National.
"I don't hit it far like Sargent," said Bennett. "I don't have 190 [mph] ball speed. I don't have a pretty swing like some of the other amateurs. It's golf, not a golf swing. I've done the right things this week. I was prepared. I was more experienced than the other guys, and yeah, here I sit here with a chance to go on the weekend and do something special."
T4. Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland (-6): The two-time major champion Morikawa checks in just a half dozen shots off the lead. He has struggled in dodgy conditions and may be hoping play gets suspended entirely on Saturday. If not, he will need to bring his A game, a state that Morikawa himself says he has been without so far this week.
"These first two days what we got in the morning wave today, some of the easiest I've seen Augusta play," he said. "Not easiest I've seen it, easiest it has played in my four times here. There hasn't been wind. When you're on 12 and you're on that par 3, you're not worried about anything. You've always had to worry about wind switches, anything, is it windy down below, high. Past couple times it's just been nice. We've gotten pretty lucky, but Mother Nature is not going to give up come Saturday and Sunday."
T6. Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Cameron Young (-5): If there is one player who may want to see this weather turn biblical, it is Spieth. The 2015 champion has acquitted himself nicely through 36 holes ranking ninth in strokes gained tee to green while getting absolutely nothing to drop with the putter. He will need the flat stick to cooperate if he is to track down Koepka who, by Spieth's own admission, isn't the Texan's ideal choice to be leading.
"Ideally, it would be somebody who would care more and potentially be feeling different than maybe Brooks will be," said Spieth. "But at the same time, it's been a little while for him, too. … You don't want to be chasing Tiger Woods; you want to be chasing somebody who's never been there. But it doesn't matter because you control what you can control: you and the golf course. I won't do much scoreboard watching. If he pushes it forward, then I needed to play better the first two days, but I'll have a goal given the conditions, and it'll try to be to shoot under par on the weekend."
T10. Gary Woodland, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann and five others (-4)
T18. Hideki Matsuyama and three others (-3)
T22. Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas and five others (-2)
T29. Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele and five others (-1): To say it has been a frustrating defense effort would be putting it lightly for Scheffler. After losing nearly four strokes with his putter on Thursday, the world No. 1 was unable to improve with the putter in hand and ranked dead last in the field in Round 2. Totaling nearly eight strokes lost to the field with just the flat stick, Scheffler's performance keys in on why it is so difficult to defend at Augusta National. A neutral effort on the greens would have pushed him alongside Rahm at 9 under, but instead, the Texan will likely join the other 83 Masters champions who were unable to go back-to-back.
T38. Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton and three others (E)
T44. Si Woo Kim and five others (+1)
T50. Tiger Woods, J.T. Poston (+2)
Rick Gehman is joined by Greg DuCharme on a rain shortened Friday to discuss Day 2 action from Augusta National. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
