QBE Shootout: Steve Palmer's preview, best bet, free golf tip, course guide

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm Saturday (tournament starts 3.15pm Friday)

Steve Palmer's best bet

Viktor Hovland & Matthew Wolff
4pts each-way 6-1 Coral, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet

QBE Shootout preview

Brendon Todd replaced Brandt Snedeker in the QBE Shootout field last week and immediately became one half of the tournament favourites. A minor finger injury is keeping Snedeker on the sidelines, so his spot alongside Billy Horschel has gone to resurgent Todd.

A QBE debut for Todd comes after form figures of 1-1-4 in his last three events, a burst of PGA Tour brilliance which has seen him rise from 522nd in the world rankings to 72nd. Horschel is the highest ranked player in the field and competing in his home state, but he is making his seventh QBE appearance and is yet to lift the trophy.

Horschel and Todd should go well and must be respected, but the much more explosive team of Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff is preferred at a slightly bigger price.

Hovland and Wolff are two of the most promising youngsters in the game and their aggressive approach could produce some extremely low scoring in the format of the QBE Shootout.

The powerhouse duo can go full throttle for all three days, knowing any loose drives will probably not do any damage under scramble, greensomes and betterball rules.

Tiburon, a long, straightforward, par-72, with four par-fives, is a track the pairing of Hovland and Wolff can be expected to immediately fall in love with on debut, and they should gel from the off given their college history together.

They were partners at Oklahoma State before taking the PGA Tour by storm as professionals and the dynamic duo are so good it is entirely feasible they could be competing against each other in the Ryder Cup next year.

Hovland finished 12th as an amateur in the US Open in June, before posting five further top-20s on the PGA Tour, including fourth spot in the Wyndham Championship.

He quickly wrapped up a PGA Tour card for 2020 with results of 11-2 in the first two events of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, then jetted over to Surrey to finish 11th on his debut in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Hovland has shown enough potential – and a frightening quality of ball-striking – to suggest he could become world number one at some stage in the next few years. And Wolff is not far behind his Norwegian pal in terms of having a glorious future.

Wolff has already got off the mark on the PGA Tour, draining an eagle putt at the 72nd hole of the 3M Open in July, and three top-20s in his last five starts suggests he is growing ever more comfortable on the toughest circuit of all. He tied for 13th in the ZOZO Championship last time out.

Inexperience is the only negative next to the names of 22-year-old Hovland and 20-year-old Wolff, but they are the superstars of this humdrum QBE field and seem likely to set up copious birdie opportunities. If either player has a hot week with the putter, the rest could be playing for second.

Pairings to note

Corey Conners & Andrew Putnam
The ever improving Canadian Conners and last year's Barracuda champion Putnam form a neat and tidy partnership which can be expected to run into a place.

Jason Kokrak & J.T. Poston
Powerhouse Kokrak and the accurate Poston are a balanced pairing who are worth considering as an each-way option.

Brian Harman & Patton Kizzire
The defending champions are both typically strong on the greens and will not give up their title easily if rolling their rocks is their usual fashion.

Tiburon course guide

Course Gold Course, Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Florida
Prize money $3.5m ($425,000 each to the winning team)
Length 7,382 yards
Par 72
Field 12 teams of two
Course records- 54 holes 182 Harris English & Matt Kuchar (2014)

Course winners (as pairing) taking part Brian Harman & Patton Kizzire

When to bet By 3.15pm Friday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm Saturday

Time difference Naples is five hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Hero World Challenge 1 H Stenson (33-1), 2 J Rahm (4-1), 3 P Reed (20-1), 4 T Woods (10-1)

Course overview The Shootout moved to Tiburon in 2001 and has remained there since. There is no rough at Tiburon and the fairways are generous, but plenty of water is waiting to punish the seriously errant. There are two par-fives on each nine, the shortest of which is the 559-yard 17th. The 485-yard, par-four 18th is a tough closing hole

Format Friday Scramble (best ball chosen after every shot) Saturday Greensomes (best tee-shot chosen then foursomes golf thereafter) Sunday Betterball (fourball golf with only best score counting)

Story of last year Brian Harman and Patton Kizzire edged Emiliano Grillo and Graeme McDowell by a shot in a closely contested finish

Weather forecast Sunny with light breezes for all three days

Type of player suited to the challenge A birdiefest is almost inevitable – most loose shots do not count towards a team's score – and the pairs often return sub-60 rounds. Aggressive golf and hot putters are the keys to success

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