Cameron Champ can apply pressure to Bryson DeChambeau

Sky Sports Golf, 8.30pm Sunday

Story so far
Bryson DeChambeau missed plenty of putts in round three of the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open, but the exceptional quality of his tee-to-green work was enough for the cocksure Californian to rise atop the leaderboard.

DeChambeau hit every fairway at which he aimed, found almost 90 percent of greens in regulation, and played his final six holes in four under par. The four-time US Tour champion, who won two FedEx Cup playoff events at the end of the summer, has become a firm favourite for Shriners glory.

DeChambeau was 14-1 ante-post, with only Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler ahead of him in the betting, and he is no bigger than 7-5 with 18 holes to play. Peter Uihlein, a 125-1 chance at the outset, is tied in front with DeChambeau at 16 under par.

Lucas Glover scooted round TPC Summerlin in just 61 shots on Saturday to move into third place. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay is tied for fourth.

Leaderboard
-16 Bryson DeChambeau, Peter Uihlein
-15 Lucas Glover
-14 Patrick Cantlay, Robert Streb
-13 Cameron Champ
-12 Ryan Palmer, Chesson Hadley, Abraham Ancer, Harold Varner

Best prices
7-5 B DeChambeau, 9-2 P Uihlein, 13-2 P Cantlay, 9 L Glover, 10 C Champ, 20 R Streb, 50 C Hadley, R Palmer, 55 A Ancer, 66 H Varner, 100 bar

Final-day advice
Bryson DeChambeau was in full control of his long-game on Saturday and is hitting his ball with such authority that he is clearly the man to beat on Sunday.

DeChambeau beat up two elite FedEx Cup playoffs fields to win his previous two titles, so victory in this lower grade should, in theory, be fairly straightforward in comparison.

DeChambeau will not blow this winning opportunity through bottling it – he made his Ryder Cup debut in September and is entirely fearless in humdrum competitions like the Shriners – and his ball-striking is unlikely to suddenly unravel.

The key to the final round of the Shriners is whether DeChambeau can be efficient enough on the greens to kill off the chasing pack. Putting is his weakness and if he lets a few birdie chances slip by, his rivals are clearly close enough to take advantage.

It would be difficult to find two more contrasting characters to be tied for the lead. DeChambeau is methodical and intense, while Peter Uihlein is free-flowing and typically carefree. DeChambeau has to be favoured in a duel against the US Tour maiden with whom he shares top spot – Uihlein seems bound to feel the pinch of Sunday pressure as he chases an overdue US Tour breakthrough.

Lucas Glover and Patrick Cantlay, although full of beans in round three, often bring a cold putter to the table, and the biggest danger to DeChambeau may become Cameron Champ, who clearly has the ability to destroy TPC Summerlin.

Champ backers were frustrated by the final four holes of round three – a missed putt from 11 feet at the 15th, from four feet at 16 and from 12 feet at 18 – and he could easily have claimed a share of the lead. From three shots behind, though, this awesome youngster is still well in the hunt for back-to-back victories.

He won the Sanderson Farms Championship by four shots last week and has got within three shots of the lead in the Shriners despite an understandably slow start. The potential of Champ is mindboggling – the most powerful player on the planet has a free-flowing putting stroke which always seems to scare the hole – and straightforward courses like Summerlin are at his mercy.

Racing Post Sport followers are on Champ each-way ante-post at 33-1, then again at 16-1 with four places from racingpost.com before round three, and a further press-up at 10-1 getting three places is advised before the final round. It would be a surprise if Champ went down without a fight – there was a quiet confidence about him in his post-round interview which suggests he knows he is close enough to the lead to claim the trophy.

Champ has more gears than anyone on the leaderboard and down the Summerlin stretch, which includes two par-fives in the final six holes, as well as the driveable par-four 15th at which he chipped a three-wood to 11 feet in round three, he could quickly zoom past anyone left in front of him.

Final-round threeball backers are pointed towards Champ, who can intimidate and overwhelm Cantlay and Robert Streb in the 6.10pm match, while Scott Piercy, playing his home track, can see off Graeme McDowell and Roberto Castro in the 4.50pm contest.

Already advised outright
C Champ
1pt each-way 16-1 general

Outright recommendation
C Champ
1pt each-way 10-1 general

Threeballs recommendations
C Champ
1pt 6-4 general

S Piercy
1pt 11-8 general

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