Steve Palmer's Canadian Open first-round threeball betting preview and tip

Sky Sports Golf, midday Thursday

Four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, FedEx Cup leader Matt Kuchar and 2012 US Open victor Webb Simpson comprise the marquee early threeball for the Canadian Open at Hamilton Country Club, teeing off at 12.40pm UK and Ireland time.

Open favourite Brooks Koepka, who last month successfully defended his US PGA title, gets his Canadian Open campaign started alongside former FedEx Cup winners Justin Thomas and Brandt Snedeker at 5.50pm.

Simpson and Snedeker look the value options for the glamour games, but the best first-round threeball bet on the card is arguably Henrik Stenson to boss his 5.40pm contest against Brice Garnett and Ryan Armour.

Stenson will probably be feeling disrespected by US Tour chiefs for being put out in such a low-key group. He is a former world number two whose golfing CV includes the 2009 Players Championship, the 2013 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, and the 2016 Open Championship. The Swede is a colossus of the sport and his playing partners are not fit to wipe his FootJoys.

Stenson is not enjoying a lucrative season – which is why Tour officials do not consider him among the biggest draws in Ontario this week – but there is every reason to believe Hamilton CC could provide a turning point.

The short, tree-lined track sets up perfectly for Stenson, who prefers to employ his trusty three-wood off the tee, and his last US Tour success, the 2017 Wyndham Championship, came on a similar layout at Sedgefield Country Club.

Stenson has been getting outgunned off the tee at longer venues this season, leaving himself too much club into the greens. He can will be approaching the Hamilton dancefloors from closer range, though, and can do plenty of damage. This masterful iron-player tops the US Tour strokes-gained-on-approach statistic.

Garnett has already missed eight cuts this year, with a best finish of 33rd in full-field events. Armour, 22nd in the Memorial at Muirfield Village last week, is a stronger opponent for Stenson, but Armour has missed nine cuts this year, including the three prior to the Memorial. Trust the Ryder Cup star to assert his superiority on a course which suits him greatly.

Recommendation
H Stenson to win threeball
2pts 19-20 Betfred

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