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

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 1.30pm Sunday

Best bets

Shane Lowry to win Honda Classic
1pt each-way 6-1 general

Christiaan Bezuidenhout top South African
1pt 10-11 bet365, BoyleSports

Sepp Straka to win 6.05pm twoball
1pt 5-6 BoyleSports, Coral, Ladbrokes

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Story so far

Chris Kirk will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Honda Classic at PGA National – the four-time PGA Tour champion looking to end a long victory drought.

Kirk is winless since the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, but a Saturday 66 took him clear in Florida, where he has a decent record. The last time he lifted a trophy was in this state on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020.

Local lad Eric Cole is alone in second place, with his fellow rookie Justin Suh a further shot back in third. Shane Lowry is the biggest name on the leaderboard – the former Open champion looking to make his presence felt from a tie for fourth.

The final twoball of Kirk and Cole is scheduled on the tee at 6.35pm UK and Ireland time. A sunny, warm day is forecast, with gentle breezes.

Leaderboard
-13 Chris Kirk
-11 Eric Cole
-10 Justin Suh
-9 Shane Lowry, Ben Taylor
-8 Byeong Hun An, Tyler Duncan

Best prices
11-10 C Kirk, 5 E Cole, 6 S Lowry, 15-2 J Suh, 18 B Taylor, 25 B H An, 40 T Duncan, 50 bar

Final-round preview

Chris Kirk has had great chances to end his barren run over the last two years, but has failed to get over the line in front, and only his biggest fans will be making a beeline for 11-10 about the leader with 18 holes to play.

Kirk revived his career when winning on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and second place in the 2021 Sony Open showed he had become a PGA Tour contender again. That was the first of ten top-ten finishes Kirk has registered since the start of 2021.

The leader has twice finished third this year – in the Sony Open and The American Express. With two maidens immediately behind him, Kirk will know this is a golden opportunity to end the run of near-misses, but it seems unlikely to come without a struggle.

Eric Cole has kept his composure well through the first three rounds, but the magnitude of the situation will probably hit him in round four. Delray Beach boy Cole, who said he had played 15 rounds at PGA National prior to this week and was comfortable at the track, has been enjoying passionate home support.

Cole, a 34-year-old rookie, may never get a better opportunity to win on the PGA Tour, with mum Laura and the rest of the Cole clan cheering his every move from the gallery. The intense atmosphere may end up putting off both members of the final twoball.

Kirk has not solo led a PGA Tour event going into round four since the 2015 Players Championship and four of the last five Honda Classic winners have come from behind on Sunday. This is new domain for Cole and opposing both the front two is the preferred tactic at the odds.

Justin Suh is full of potential and is well worth considering at 15-2 from only three shots behind, but slight preference is for Shane Lowry, who relishes PGA National and is a man on a mission.

Lowry was unlucky in last year's Honda when a sudden burst of heavy rain made his final hole play significantly tougher – a par five meaning he lost by a shot. He is well suited to the challenge of plotting safe passage around PGA National and the popular Irishman could be about to follow last year's runner-up finish with the trophy.

Lowry is full of determination in the wake of losing his uncle, Jimmy Lowry, on Thursday. The unexpected death of Jimmy at the age of 66 left Shane considering jetting straight home to Ireland to be with his family. He was convinced to stay and has played superbly since, rocketing up the leaderboard with a Saturday 65.

Lowry has made a slow start to 2023 and has been adjusting to life with a new caddie, but the former Open champion is delighted with how he has been working with his latest bagman and they are in position to claim an early success together.

From four shots behind in a share of fourth, Lowry appeals as an each-way bet at 6-1, with terms of a fifth the odds the first three places.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout clicked into gear in round three, carding six birdies, and he can defend his lead in the top South African section, while Sepp Straka appeals as the best twoball option (6.05pm against Tyler Duncan).

Defending champion Straka has improved his score each round and the Austrian looked in superb nick on Saturday.

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