Steve Palmer's Thailand Classic final-round tips and best bets

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 5.30am Sunday

Best bets

Nicolai Hojgaard without Thorbjorn Olesen
3pts 7-4 Betfair, Power

Clement Sordet top Frenchman
1pt 7-2 bet365

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Story so far

Thorbjorn Olesen leads the Thailand Classic by two shots going into the final round at Amata Spring Golf Club, Bangkok - the Danish dude shortening from 22-1 to 11-8 over the first 54 holes.

Olesen started the event with a pair of 67s, then followed up with a bogey-free 64. The former Ryder Cup star is seeking a seventh DP World Tour title.

Olesen's compatriot, Nicolai Hojgaard, is tied for second place, alongside Germany's Yannik Paul, and the other pre-tournament market principals have fallen away.

Robert MacIntyre is tied for 50th place, while Jordan Smith missed the cut by two shots. The final threeball of Olesen, Hojgaard and Paul is scheduled to tee off at noon local time (5am UK and Ireland time) on Sunday. A sunny, warm, calm day is forecast.

Leaderboard
-18 Thorbjorn Olesen
-16 Yannik Paul, Nicolai Hojgaard
-15 Joost Luiten
-14 Dale Whitnell, Jeunghun Wang, Kazuki Higa

Best prices
11-8 T Olesen, 16-5 N Hojgaard, 11-2 Y Paul, 11 J Luiten, 20 J Wang, 22 D Whitnell, 25 K Higa, 50 bar

Final-round preview

Thorbjorn Olesen has been working his way into top form over the last few months and he made the game look easy in round three of the Thailand Classic, never looking in serious danger of dropping shots. Another 18 holes like that and the rest of the field is in trouble.

Olesen has DP World Tour form of 44-30-20-16-4 – and last time out in the Ras al Khaimah Championship he was 12 under par for his final 24 holes. This is a class act who has found his A-game and looks ready to soon smash his way back into the world's top 100.

Olesen, a Racing Post Sport pre-tournament recommendation at 22-1, has looked cool and calm throughout the Thailand Classic, and he can draw on last year's British Masters success, where he finished in style for a one-shot triumph at The Belfry.

The biggest problem for Olesen is probably not that Sunday nerves may have an impact, but that he has such a dangerous opponent to fend off. With a two-shot cushion over Nicolai Hojgaard, Olesen has the edge over his young compatriot, but Hojgaard has started this year in impressive fashion and seems unlikely to go down without a fight.

Hojgaard was joint top scorer in the Hero Cup at the start of the year and has continued to strike his ball with authority since. Problems closer to the hole are why Hojgaard has not lifted any silverware as an individual this year – his putting has been poor – so what he does on the Amata Spring greens on Sunday could be crucial to the outcome of this event.

Yannik Paul enjoyed a controversial DP World Tour breakthrough in the Mallorca Open in October – the Frankfurter is no mug – but the Thailand Classic seems likely to develop into a shootout between the Danish duo.

Punters with a decent pre-tournament investment in either Olesen or Hojgaard should arguably be considering a cover bet on the other. The 11-8 Olesen and 16-5 Hojgaard are both fair prices.

Hojgaard can be backed at an attractive 7-4 with Betfair and Paddy Power in a 'without Olesen' market, while another price which appeals is bet365's 7-2 about Clement Sordet ending up as top Frenchman.

Sordet finished round three strongly, covering the final eight holes in three under par, rediscovering his form after his winning chance receded. Expect a more relaxed Sordet to show how much he likes Amata Spring on Sunday. He finished second on this track in a high-class Thailand Championship in 2015 and can overturn his one-shot deficit in the top Frenchman section.

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