Players Championship second-round threeball tips and best bets: Ramey the one to catch at TPC Sawgrass

Where to watch the Players Championship

Sky Sports Main Event & Golf, 11.40am Friday

Best bets

Taylor Pendrith to win 5.15pm threeball
1pt 15-8 BoyleSports

Adam Svensson to win 5.56pm threeball
2pts 7-5 BoyleSports

Harrison Endycott to win 6.51pm threeball
1pt 15-8 BoyleSports

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Story so far

Chad Ramey is the unlikely leader of the Players Championship, the Mississippi man carding an eight-under 64 to take the lead after day one at TPC Sawgrass.

Ramey, a 2000-1 outsider before a ball was struck, produced a remarkable performance with the putter and looks set to hold the lead through 18 holes, although Justin Suh is three shots adrift of the 30-year-old and will return for an eagle putt on the 16th after play was suspended last night.

The leader is now just 40-1 to win the tournament but it's Collin Morikawa who has emerged as the new favourite, the two-time Major champion firing a 65 to sit one shot behind Ramey. Morikawa, who sparkled with his trademark iron-play on Thursday, leads the betting at 7-2.

Scottie Scheffler, who is four shots adrift, performed best of the marquee first-round threeball featuring the other members of the world's top three, Jon Rahm (-1) and a struggling Rory McIlroy (+4). Masters hero Scheffler is 5-1 to add the Players to his trophy cabinet.

Leaderboard
-8 Chad Ramey
-7 Collin Morikawa
-5 Taylor Pendrith, Ben Griffin, Justin Suh (through 15 holes)
-4 Min Woo Lee, Denny McCarthy, Christian Bezuidenhout, Adam Svensson, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns
-3 Si Woo Kim, Cam Davis, Justin Rose, Nate Lashley, Viktor Hovland, Lucas Glover, Jordan Spieth

Best prices
7-2 C Morikawa, 5-1 S Scheffler, 14 J Rahm, 16 V Hovland, 18 J Spieth, 22 J Day, S Burns, 25 Si Woo Kim, 40 bar.

Second-round preview

Chad Ramey's surprise first-round performance will be almost impossible to replicate and it's likely that the tournament leader will forfeit his advantage sooner rather than later with bookmakers making him the outsider of three when he tees it up alongside JJ Spaun and Luke List in the second round.

Collin Morikawa looks by far the most likely to assume the lead through 36 holes, particularly if the Californian continues to flush his irons, and that's reflected in second-round leader odds of 21-10.

However, things can change quickly around TPC Sawgrass, where even the best players have managed to rack up huge scores, and any mistake could quickly bring a host of names back into contention.

Second-round threeball punters are pointed towards a pair of Canadians - Adam Svensson and Taylor Pendrith are taken to remain in contention heading into the weekend.

RSM Classic champion Svensson had his game in excellent shape on Thursday, ranking ninth in strokes-gained tee-to-green on the way to carding a 68, and he should get the better of Joel Dahmen and Robert Streb when they tee off at 5.56pm UK and Ireland time.

Dahmen has missed his last two PGA Tour cuts and needed his short-game to bail him out in round one while Streb has failed to make the weekend in eight straight events and opened up with a dismal 78.

Long-driving Pendrith began with a 67 to sit three shots back and appears to relish the test provided by TPC Sawgrass having finished 13th on debut last season.

He tees it up alongside the English duo of Tommy Fleetwood and Callum Tarren this afternoon and while Fleetwood is a high-quality performer, the Southport man has been short of his best so far this season. Tarren, meanwhile, has shown promise since earning his PGA Tour card but he arrived at the Players in poor form and faces a battle to play all four rounds after opening up with a one-over 73.

Harrison Endycott impressed with his driving, the Aussie ranking third in strokes-gained off-the-tee when carding a first-round 70, and he looks a solid bet to see off Eric Cole, who was runner-up in the Honda Classic two weeks ago but was wayward with his approaches on Thursday, and Nick Hardy, who is on the verge of missing a fourth straight cut after opening up with a 77.

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