Jon Rahm threw up his arms in frustration as the horns sounded across the Augusta National course, ordering players to stop amid the threat of lightning storms.
Bad weather was on the horizon from the moment the players first teed off on Friday morning. Those playing early in the day knew they had the useful advantage of perhaps being able to get their rounds done before the storm clouds rolled in.
And that was the case as it wasn't until a little after 3pm local time that the air horns sounded across the property, signalling the stoppage of play. Rahm had just hit a nice shot out of the bunker and close to the pin when he heard the noise, throwing his arms up into the air in frustration.
A short statement published on the official Masters social media channels read: "Due to inclement weather conditions, Augusta National Golf Club was forced to suspend play at 3:07 p.m. EDT and, subsequently, evacuated the grounds. Further updates will be announced once available."
The good news for the Spaniard was that the first delay did not look like it was going to be a long one. The threat of lightning began to dissipate with just rain likely from the clouds above, and organisers appeared content to allow play to resume again after a short delay.
The players headed back to their balls after just a short break, clearly under the impression that play would be resumed imminently. But they had to wait to hear the sound of those air horns again before they could continue with their rounds.
A little over 20 minutes after play was stopped, the signal was given allowing players to carry on as usual. Left with a nine-foot putt on the hole he was on, world number three Rahm strolled straight back onto the green and found the back of the cup.
With that he made par, keeping him on seven under par for the tournament. That was five strokes behind leader Brooke Koepka, who was already relaxing in the clubhouse after completing his round and did not have to worry about the weather for the rest of the day.
Splitting them at that point was amateur Sam Bennett, enjoying a dream Masters debut. He might have never played on the Augusta course before, but he didn't show it with a mature performance, after which he declared a shock victory is on the cards.
