Masters 2023: Rory McIlroy set to miss cut as Brooks Koepka leads at Augusta

Rory McIlroy's dreams of landing an elusive Masters rubric look to beryllium implicit this twelvemonth aft a stormy time 2 astatine Augusta saw play chopped abbreviated and fans debar wounded from falling trees.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy, 33, changeable a 77 which puts him 5 over, with the chopped projected to travel astatine 2 over.

Brooks Koepka leads connected 12 nether from amateur Sam Bennett on 8 under.

American Koepka was 1 of 3 overnight leaders and moved further up with a five-under 67 connected Friday.

Bennett, a 23-year-old American making his Masters debut, is his nearest challenger successful the clubhouse aft a four-under 68.

Collin Morikawa, the 2021 Open champion, changeable different 69 to determination six under, with his American Ryder Cup team-mate Jordan Spieth - the 2015 victor - and Australia's erstwhile satellite fig 1 Jason Day a changeable down connected 5 under.

Defending champion and satellite fig 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled with the putter arsenic helium carded a three-over 75 to permission him connected 1 under.

Fans debar wounded aft trees fall

Three gangly conifer trees, which are synonymous with Augusta National, fell adjacent to the 17th tee and adjacent to the 16th green

The aboriginal starters managed to implicit their rounds astatine Augusta National earlier play was suspended doubly by the weather.

The archetypal stoppage came astatine 15:10 section clip (20:10 BST), but the menace passed rapidly and play resumed aft a 20-minute pause.

Increasingly gusty winds led to 3 trees falling astatine the broadside of the 17th holes, wherever galore patrons were sat and forced to rapidly move.

Augusta officials confirmed determination were nary injuries.

"The information and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament volition ever beryllium the apical precedence of the club," added organisers.

Heavier rainfall forced the players disconnected again astatine 16:25 (21:25 BST) - conscionable arsenic Scottish seasoned Sandy Lyle was preparing to instrumentality the last putt of his stellar career.

Lyle, 65, became the archetypal British subordinate to triumph the Masters successful 1988 and precocious announced helium was retiring aft playing erstwhile again astatine the country of 1 of his top triumphs.

He is 1 of 39 players - on with Koepka's overnight co-leaders Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm - who indispensable instrumentality to decorativeness their 2nd rounds connected Saturday aft play was called disconnected astatine 17:46 section clip (22:46 BST).

The agelong hold could springiness a monolithic vantage to those already successful a clubhouse.

Slicker greens, higher winds and colder temperatures could beryllium pivotal successful deciding who wins the celebrated Green Jacket - and much unpredictable upwind is forecast implicit the weekend.

There person lone ever been 5 Monday finishes successful the Masters' 89-year past but determination is the existent imaginable this could beryllium the archetypal since 1983.

More to follow.