Brooks Koepka Ripped Group in Front of Him for Playing Slow in Final Round of Masters

Both members of the final pairing—Brooks Koepka and eventual Masters champion Jon Rahm—are typically some of the faster players in professional golf. On Sunday at Augusta National, the pace of play wasn’t exactly speedy, and Koepka didn’t shy away from pointing that out in his post-round press conference. 

A reporter posed the question to the LIV Golf member: “You’re a pretty fast player, as we know. Curious your thoughts on pace of play this afternoon?”

The four-time major champion’s response: “Yeah, the group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”

The group playing ahead of Koepka and Rahm included eight-time PGA Tour winner Patrick Cantlay and Norway’s Viktor Hovland. 

Typically, PGA Tour players use bathroom and snack breaks to distract from the long waits in between shots when the pace of play is lagging, but in the case of the 2023 Masters, even that wasn’t enough. Players often note that extended breaks in between shots can lead to a loss of focus and momentum. 

As the final round unfolded Sunday, Rahm and Koepka were continually shown waiting on tee boxes or in the fairway for the Cantlay and Hovland group to clear.

Hovland finished T7 in his fourth Masters appearance with a 2-over final round of 74. Cantlay, on the other hand, placed T14 and carded a 3-over 75 with six bogeys and three birdies.