The Masters could be in line for its first Monday finish in 40 years with further inclement weather predicted across the weekend; three trees fell amid strong winds on Friday leading to play being suspended; watch live on Saturday on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 8 April 2023 12:53, UK
The Masters has not finished on a Monday since 1983 - but that run could end this year with play suspended due to storms on Friday and wet weather forecast over the weekend.
The action is scheduled to resume at 8am local time (1pm BST) on Saturday, with 39 players, including Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tiger Woods - who resumed on the cut mark - among those to complete their second rounds.
Tournament leader Brooks Koepka finished his second round before the inclement weather arrived later in the day, carding a five-under 67 to move to 12 under - three clear of Rahm - in his pursuit of a fifth major championship and first since the 2019 PGA Championship.
Between an inch and two of rain is expected to fall on what is set to be a chilly Saturday in Georgia, where thunderstorms are forecast again early in the day, threatening further delays and increasing the likelihood of a first five-day Augusta National major in 40 years.
The second round was halted for just over 20 minutes due to the threat of storms but resumed just before 3.30pm local time (8.30pm BST), only to be stopped again less than an hour later due to the threat of further inclement weather.
Several spectators had a lucky escape as strong winds brought three trees crashing down without injury, while safety checks will be a priority with gusts of 25-30 miles per hour forecast again on day three.
An Augusta National statement read: "Augusta National Golf Club can confirm that no injuries were reported from three trees that were blown over to the left of the No 17 tee due to wind.
"The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters tournament will always be the top priority of the club. We will continue to closely monitor weather."
Sky Sports News' Jamie Weir, reporting from on site, said: "For Augusta National, clearly there are some big decisions to make.
"There's a lot of rain forecast, the ground is going to get softer, and while this is a complete freak incident, they want to be entirely sure that no other trees are at risk."
One eyewitness, Augusta patron Deshey Thomas, said "we were blessed" after no one was injured by the falling trees.
"Pine cones were hitting us in the back, we turned around and looked up and heard a huge cracking noise. The tree basically crushed 10 chairs that were sitting there. Luckily we got everyone out of there."
Megan Hill told the Augusta Chronicle: "I was sitting, looking, waiting for the next group to come up to the tee and it fell maybe eight to 10 chairs to our left.
"I stood up and screamed and thought, 'Is it going to fall on me?' It fell to the left of us and it was so scary. If the wind had been blowing a slightly different direction, we might have got hit."
Watch The Masters throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage will resume on Saturday at the earlier time from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf, with extra feeds available via the red button.
