Steve Palmer's Masters third-round preview, best bets, free golf betting tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 7.30pm Saturday

Best bets

Shane Lowry to win 7.40pm twoball
2pts 10-11 general

Cameron Smith to win 7.10pm twoball
2pts 10-13 bet365

Story so far

Scottie Scheffler put some distance between himself and the rest of the field in round two of the Masters at Augusta, the buzzing 25-year-old carding a 67 to move eight under par, five shots clear of a quartet tied for second.

Scheffler, a pre-tournament 16-1 chance, has become a general even-money favourite at the halfway stage of the Georgia showpiece.

The world number one, who has won three of his last five events, bogeyed his first hole of round two and three-putted the third for another drop shot. From there, though, the Texas-based star was six under par to the clubhouse, despite missing a birdie putt from three feet at the ninth.

Scheffler has driven his ball superbly, calmly holding his score together while many others suffered some scorecard busters on a breezy Friday, and he has forged a significant advantage going into the weekend.

Many big names will not be around for Saturday's action. Sam Burns was unable to overcome his lack of Augusta experience and missed the cut by a shot, while Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka were two other well-fancied runners who failed to advance to the weekend.

Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau have also departed.
Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, shrugging off the injury issues he had coming into the week, is among the group tied for second place. The 2011 Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel, is also in second.

Tiger Woods made a terrible start to round two, going four over par through five holes, but he fought back manfully to comfortably make the cut, finishing one over par and tied for 19th place.

The action resumes at 3.20pm UK and Ireland time, with the final twoball of Scheffler and Schwartzel teeing off at 7.50pm. A cool day, with light to moderate breezes is forecast. Temperatures should be in single-figures for the early starters, picking up to 12C by the afternoon. Winds are expected to peak at 12 mph in the middle of the day, dropping slightly as the final groups approach the clubhouse.

Leaderboard
-8 Scottie Scheffler
-3 Charl Schwartzel, Sungjae Im, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama
-2 Harold Varner, Dustin Johnson, Kevin Na, Cameron Smith
-1 Corey Conners, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Justin Thomas

Best prices
Evens S Scheffler, 12 D Johnson, H Matsuyama, S Lowry, C Smith, 14 J Thomas, 20 S Im, 22 C Morikawa, 35 W Zalatoris, 50 bar

Third-round preview

Scottie Scheffler is riding the crest of a wave, seeking to win his fourth title in six starts. His victories have been getting progressively more impressive - a Phoenix Open success followed by him defeating a high-class Arnold Palmer Invitational field, then a WGC triumph in the Dell Technologies Match Play. Can golf's new top dog continue that progression by winning his first Major at Augusta?

Technically, it is difficult to identify negatives. Scheffler has become the complete player, with no statistical weakness, and this week he has been strong enough in all departments to dominate. The drying of the turf over the weekend should actually help him to keep his feet more stable, with the slippery early conditions testing his funky foot action.

Mentally is where this tournament will be won or lost for Scheffler. There has been a wonderfully carefree approach to the first 36 holes - this happy, contented, typically-smiling gentleman breezing round Augusta. He has taken everything that has happened this year in his stride, explaining how nothing has changed and that he has realised world-number-one status, Green Jackets and whatever else may come his way will not alter the fundamentals of his life.

If Scheffler can retain the attitude which has helped him enjoy such a glorious start to 2022, the rest of the field is going to need to perform heroics to threaten the leader. If he can stay loose and keep the perspective which has been radiating out of him lately, a bunch of pars should be enough for The Scheff to retain top spot going into Sunday.

Scheffler was a Racing Post Sport pre-tournament recommendation at 16-1 and strong faith remains that the Green Jacket could be his. The history of Augusta meltdowns though - from Greg Norman to Rory McIlroy to Jordan Spieth - means cautious punters with a hearty bet at 16-1 may want to have some cover on others. Prayers have been sent to the golfing gods begging for Scheffler to retain the composure which he has shown for two months - and cheerful, experienced, Augusta-proven caddie Ted Scott will help - but it must be accepted that the Cathedral of Pines can do funny things to a player's mind.

The fitness of Hideki Matsuyama must be taken on trust - only those closest to the Japanese will know the extent of his neck issues - while Sungjae Im may not quite be ready for this mission. Charl Schwartzel's form could disappear as quickly as it came, so Shane Lowry stands out as the most dangerous of those tied for second.
Lowry, pipped by Sepp Straka in the Honda Classic at the end of February, has been playing some rock-solid golf this year. A drying course, with some breeze still flapping the flags, will have the Irishman licking his lips.

Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas can be expected to move from slightly deeper on the leaderboard to join Scheffler and Lowry on the first page. One of these world-class talents seems likely to earn a place in the final twoball for Sunday, so Scheffler, as he would expect in a Major, will probably have elite opposition for the denouement.

Third-round twoball punters are pointed towards Lowry (7.40pm against Im) and Smith (7.10pm against Corey Conners). Both should revel in the conditions and possess the mental fortitude for Masters weekend.

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