While the 87th Masters will be long remembered for Jon Rahm’s come-from-behind win over Brooks Koepka, one thing that won’t be remembered fondly was the slow pace of play in the final round.
Rahm and Koepka were frequently forced to wait for the pairing immediately in front of them – Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland – to hit their shots.
Both Rahm and Koepka typically prefer a speedier pace, and when the subject was raised in the post-round news conference, Koepka didn’t hold back.
“Yeah, the group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said. “Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
Cantlay was by far the more egregious offender, as Hovland even seemed to be a bit annoyed at his playing competitor. On one occasion, Hovland didn’t even wait for Cantlay and his caddie to reach the green before hitting his chip shot.
Cantlay shot a 3-over 75 in his final round to tie for 14th place. Hovland shot a 2-over 74 to tie for seventh.
And Koepka was left to wonder if things might have turned out differently had someone else been in the group ahead of him.
