Steve Palmer's Canadian Open third-round advice, tips, when to watch

Sky Sports Golf, Saturday 6pm

FedEx Cup leader Matt Kuchar birdied the final three holes of round two to claim a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Canadian Open at Hamilton Country Club.

Kuchar, who missed the cut when well backed for the Memorial Tournament last week, has bounced back to form as a 22-1 chance in Canada. The 40-year-old, gunning for the tenth US Tour victory of his career, goes into the weekend as a general 3-1 favourite.

Scott Brown, a 250-1 ante-post outsider, is perched alongside Kuchar at the leaderboard summit, while Brandt Snedeker, who fired a spectacular second-round 60, is tied for third place with leading Canadian Nick Taylor.

The Canadians are doing better than they normally do in their national Open – six have made the cut, bidding to become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes are close enough if good enough, but the pressure which comes with crowd-pleasing and attempting to end more than six decades of hurt, typically sees the locals fold as the winning post approaches.

Punters scouring the outright market at this stage should probably be concentrating on Kuchar, Snedeker and Webb Simpson, prolific champions who are all extremely well suited to this venue, while those seeking bigger prices should consider Henrik Stenson and Shane Lowry, a European duo swinging well and still in the hunt from four shots behind.

Lowry was tied for the lead before dropping four shots in four holes on his back nine in round two, but he signed off with a birdie to revive morale and title aspirations.

Rory McIlroy is five off the pace, sharing 13th place, Justin Thomas is 25th, while Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are tied for 33rd. Sergio Garcia and 2012 Hamilton champion Scott Piercy were the biggest names to miss the cut.

Third-round twoball punters are pointed towards Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, who appears to be getting back to his best. Willett can defeat Brian Harman at an attractive price in the 5.30pm (UK and Ireland time) contest, while Snedeker and Kuchar can be fancied for the final two matches. A buzzing Snedeker is at surprisingly generous odds to defeat Taylor, who could freeze under weekend pressure in his homeland.

The final duo of Kuchar and Brown is scheduled on the tee at 7.10pm. A clear but breezy afternoon is expected for the leaders.

Recommendations
D Willett
2pts Evens general

B Snedeker
2pts 8-11 general

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