Steve Palmer's ISPS Handa Championship final-round tips and best bets

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 3.30am Sunday morning

Best bets

Takumi Kanaya to win ISPS Handa Championship
1pt each-way 8-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Story so far

Aaron Cockerill will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the ISPS Handa Championship at Ishioka Golf Club in Japan.Cockerill, a 30-year-old Canadian who has never won on the DP World Tour, could be backed at 200-1 on tournament-eve, but rounds of 64, 69 and 64 have put him at 13 under par.

Cockerill is 4-1 to successfully convert his slender advantage into silverware. Lucas Herbert, tied for second place, is the 14-5 favourite.Herbert, a 27-year-old Australian, has won twice on the DP World Tour and once on the PGA Tour. He is the highest-ranked player in this field (59th in the world).

Leaderboard
-13 Aaron Cockerill
-12 David Law, Lucas Herbert
-11 Rikuya Hoshino, Grant Forrest, Takumi Kanaya
-10 Rafa Cabrera Bello, Jazz Janewattananond
-9 Guido Migliozzi, Calum Hill, Jordan Smith, Max Kieffer

Best prices
14-5 L Herbert, 4 A Cockerill, 13-2 D Law, 15-2 R Hoshino, 8 T Kanaya, 10 G Forrest, 22 J Janewattananond, R Cabrera Bello, 33 J Smith, 50 bar

ISPS Handa Championship final-round preview

Bookmakers believe Lucas Herbert is set to justify his status as the best player in the ISPS Handa Championship field by winning the trophy.Herbert, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adri Arnaus were the three highest-ranked players in attendance at the start of the week, but Bezuidenhout and Arnaus missed the cut, with only Herbert showing his quality.

Some loose iron-play could be the only criticism levelled at Herbert over the first two days, but he tightened up in that department in round three and should be tough to beat.

It is tempting to side with the class of the leaderboard going into the final round, but it should be noted that just over a month ago he was carding rounds of 82 and 85 to finish last in the Players Championship at Sawgrass. And last week in the RBC Heritage he closed with a 74 for 63rd place.

When Herbert loses his rhythm, the wheels can quickly come off, so backing him at short odds is probably unwise. Punters on at the pre-tournament 22-1 should be on great terms with themselves, but the 14-5 can be left alone.

Better value at this stage is the 8-1 about Takumi Kanaya, who is lurking dangerously only two shots off the pace.Japan had a strong contingent in this event and the locals may well still be cheering home one of their own. Kanaya and Rikuya Hoshino are the Japanese duo who have stayed in contention.

Kanaya, who has opened with rounds of 66, 66 and 67 this week, has been in rock-solid form all over the globe, winning the International Series in Oman on the Asian Tour in February, then following up with 28th spot in the Thailand Classic on the DPWT, eighth in the Token Homemate Cup on the Japan Tour and fourth in the International Series Vietnam back on the Asian Tour.

Kanaya is in the groove, used to contending for titles in recent weeks. He squandered a three-shot Sunday lead in Vietnam last week and will appreciate the chance to be the hunter rather than the hunted at Ishioka.

A final-round battle between Herbert, Kanaya and Hoshino may unfold, with Kanaya preferred as the biggest price of the trio. Each-way terms of a quarter the odds the first three are available.A cloudy, cool, calm denouement is forecast. The final twoball of Aaron Cockerill and David Law is scheduled to tee off at 4.20am UK and Ireland time.

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