Steve Palmer's Abu Dhabi Championship final-round preview, best bets, free tips

When to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 7am Sunday

Best bets

Kurt Kitayama to win the Abu Dhabi Championship
1pt each-way 16-1 general

Bernd Wiesberger to win threeball
1pt 11-10 general

Story so far

Lee Westwood produced a vintage performance in round three of the Abu Dhabi Championship to hit the leaderboard summit in the high-class European Tour gathering.

Westwood, available at 80-1 for Abu Dhabi glory on tournament-eve, carded an eagle and six birdies in a sizzling Saturday effort. The Worksop Wonder, a 24-time European Tour champion who turns 47 in April, leads by a shot with 18 holes to play and is a best-price 7-2 to convert his advantage into victory.

Bernd Wiesberger and halfway pacesetter Francesco Laporta are tied for second place, with Matthew Fitzpatrick another shot adrift, alone in fourth spot.

Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka headed the market ante-post, but the superstar trio have left themselves with a Sunday mountain to climb. Fleetwood is tied for 14th place, six shots behind, while Cantlay is seven off the lead and Koepka is languishing in 48th position, with surely insurmountable nine-shot deficit to overcome.

Leaderboard
-14 Lee Westwood
-13 Bernd Wiesberger, Francesco Laporta
-12 Matthew Fitzpatrick
-11 Sergio Garcia, Kurt Kitayama
-10 Rafa Cabrera Bello, Thomas Detry
-9 Louis Oosthuizen, Ross Fisher, Jack Senior, Zander Lombard, Sebastian Heisele
-8 Scott Hend, Thomas Pieters, Joakim Lagergren, Jack Singh Brar, Victor Perez, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Andy Sullivan, Tommy Fleetwood, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Romain Langasque

Best prices
7-2 L Westwood, B Wiesberger, 5 M Fitzpatrick, 9 S Garcia, 10 F Laporta, 16 K Kitayama, 22 R Cabrera Bello, T Detry, 40 L Oosthuizen, 66 T Fleetwood, 100 Z Lombard, R Fisher, 125 T Pieters, 150 P Cantlay, 200 bar

Final-round preview

Many golf fans wondered whether the 2018 Nedbank Challenge victory of Lee Westwood was going to be his last hurrah on the European Tour, but the veteran has put himself in position to win an equally prestigious title in Abu Dhabi.

Westwood, a six-shot victor in the 2009 Dubai World Championship, enjoys the Middle East events and has improved his score each day in Abu Dhabi. With a sunny, calm afternoon forecast for the final round, though, the leader knows that an army of pursuers are going to be charging at him on Sunday and he will only triumph if keeping on the front foot.

Bernd Wiesberger, a three-time European Tour champion in 2019, arguably deserves favouritism from just a shot behind Westwood. The Austrian giant won two Rolex Series events last year and will fancy his chances of completing a Rolex hat-trick.

Francesco Laporta won twice on the Challenge Tour last year, but the maiden has every right to struggle under the pressure of a final threeball with Westwood and Wiesberger.

The most appealing price among the market principals is the 7-2 Wiesberger, but with the weather gods seeming likely to serve up the opportunity for a round in the low-60s, chancing one or two of the chasing pack at juicy prices is the preferred punting strategy.

Thomas Pieters and Victor Perez were Racing Post Sport ante-post recommendations who still have a squeak from six shots behind, but they have probably given Westwood and Co too much of a start.

From three shots closer, the best final-round value is arguably Kurt Kitayama, who continues to be underrated by bookmakers despite a barnstorming start to his European Tour career.

Kitayama, who has just turned 26, attended the University of Nevada and is comfortable in desert conditions. And after just 11 European Tour starts, he had won twice, his second success coming in the Oman Open.

A bogey-free Saturday has put Kitayama well in the hunt and if Westwood and Wiesberger carry cold putters in round four – something with which both players often suffer – then the American powerhouse could easily gallop past on the back nine and set a competitive clubhouse lead.

Final-round threeball punters are pointed towards Wiesberger for his 8.05am (UK and Ireland time) group with Westwood and Laporta.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport