Masters: Third round suspended for the day due to rain

Brooks Koepka strengthened his grip on the 87th Masters before unrelenting rain at Augusta National forced play to be suspended for the day.

Koepka took a two-shot lead into the delayed third round and had doubled his advantage over Jon Rahm in the space of just five holes as greenkeeping staff battled to remove standing water from a number of greens.

The final group had reached the seventh green by the time play was called off at 3.15pm local time, with Koepka on 13-under-par and Rahm nine under.

US Amateur champion Sam Bennett was three strokes further back, with Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa all on five under.

Irish pair Shane Lowry and Seamus Power were, like the majority of the field, struggling in the tough conditions.

Lowry had started the third round on four-over-par, but had dropped two shots by the time the hooter sounded while he was on the 10th hole.

The Offaly man started with a bogey after his approach came up a club short and rolled back off the green. Lowry's chipped third shot was good but his putt horse-shoed around the hole.

A long-range birdie putt at the third was the perfect tonic in response, but bogeys at the fourth – after going left off the tee – and the ninth, after again seeing his approach hit the front and roll back off the green, left him 11 shots off the lead when play was halted.

Power meanwhile was one-over-par for the round and two-over-par overall as he too was called in after nine holes.

The Waterford native had started on the 10th tee and opened with four straight pars before a run of two bogeys and a birdie between the 14th and 16th.

Similar to Lowry, Power's first dropped shot came because of a second shot hitting the green and rolling back off it with