Steve Palmer's Bermuda Championship first-round preview and free golf betting tips

Where to watch the Bermuda Championship

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 6pm Thursday

Best bets

Thomas Detry to win 11.56am threeball
3pts 20-21 bet365

Alex Smalley to win 4.58pm threeball
2pts Evens general

Zecheng Dou top Chinese
2pts 20-23 bet365

Alex Noren top Swede
2pts 20-23 bet365

Mark Hubbard to miss cut
1pt 11-4 Betfair, Coral, Ladbrokes

Davis Riley to win 11.23am threeball
1pt 19-10 general

Akshay Bhatia and Lucas Herbert dual forecast
0.5pt 225-1 bet365

Bermuda Championship first-round preview

Only one player finished ahead of Thomas Detry in last year's Bermuda Championship and the Belgian has a liking for Port Royal Golf Course.

Detry is yet to win a title on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, lacking killer instinct, but he can be followed with confidence early in the week when his shoulders are loose. The 30-year-old looks a solid first-round threeball investment against Chris Stroud and Max McGreevy.

Stroud is world number 611 for good reasons and he has missed the cut in both his previous Bermuda visits. McGreevy is 546th in the world rankings. Detry is 81st and should boss the group if producing anything close to his best.

Alex Smalley, 12th and 11th in his two previous Bermuda Championship starts, should prove too steady for Brian Stuard and Matti Schmid in their group, while Davis Riley, who finished seventh in his only previous Bermuda start, looks a juicy price for the 11.23am (UK) contest.

Lucas Glover has competed just once since his Ryder cup snub, finishing 59th at El Cardonal, and looks an opposable favourite against Riley and Nick Hardy. Glover tied for 63rd place in his only previous Bermuda visit.

Backing Mark Hubbard to miss the cut in Mexico last week paid off at 9-4, but 11-4 is freely available about a repeat in Bermuda. The overrated journeyman has missed six of his last ten cuts and missed the cut at Port Royal last year.

Alex Noren and Zecheng Dou look strong favourites for their respective regional markets – top Swede and top Chinese – while a small outright dual forecast wager is also recommended.

Outright fancies Akshay Bhatia and Lucas Herbert can be put together in a 225-1 dual forecast. Rising star Bhatia and former Bermuda champion Herbert should both be leading title contenders.

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