Steve Palmer's Charles Schwab Challenge third-round preview, best bets

When to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 6pm Saturday

Best bets

Xander Schauffele to win Charles Schwab Challenge
1pt each-way 10-1 general

Sungjae Im to win twoball
2pts 8-11 bet365, Sky Bet

Story so far

The PGA Tour could not have wished for a much more intriguing leaderboard going into the weekend of the first event after the coronavirus suspension.

There is a huge amount of attention on the Charles Schwab Challenge as the sporting world bids to get back on its feet amid the issues presented by the pandemic – and golfing-wise the tournament has already been a great success.

Harold Varner, a 200-1 chance at the start of the week, leads the way after rounds of 63 and 66. The popular maiden has given himself the opportunity of a PGA Tour breakthrough at Colonial Country Club, but he has a formidable set of opponents to repel.

World number one Rory McIlroy was 8-1 favourite going into the tournament and has halved in price after a positive start. A second-round 63 has left him only two shots off the pace on his Colonial debut.

Californian duo Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele are alongside McIlroy on the board, while Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth are a shot closer to Varner. DeChambeau, establishing himself as the Tour's longest driver after an intense workout regime, has posted a pair of 65s. As has Spieth, who is winless since the 2017 Open Championship.

Every player and caddie tested negative for Covid-19 on arrival at Colonial. Most of the competitors seemed to take that as a green-light to ignore the remaining protocol set out by the Tour, so on-course behaviour has been similar to normal.

Leaderboard
-11 Harold Varner
-10 Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau
-9 Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy
-8 Justin Thomas, Branden Grace, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Daniel Berger
-7 Joel Dahmen, Corey Conners
-6 Bubba Watson, Peter Uihlein, Brian Harman, J.T. Poston, Abraham Ancer

Best prices
4 R McIlroy, 5 B DeChambeau, 13-2 J Spieth, 10 X Schauffele, J Thomas, 11 H Varner, C Morikawa, 16 J Rose, 22 G Woodland, 33 D Berger, 40 B Grace, 60 C Conners, 66 A Ancer, J Dahmen, 70 S Im, 100 bar

Third-round preview

Harold Varner and Jordan Spieth tee off in the final third-round twoball at 7.10pm UK and Ireland time – and it is possible both may need a few holes to settle into their stride.

Varner, who opened round two with a triple-bogey before manfully fighting back, is seeking his first victory, while it has been almost three years since Spieth lifted a trophy. Spieth has a magnificent record at Colonial and relishes action in his home state of Texas, but weekend wobbles have been a feature of his drop down the world rankings and it is far from certain that he can maintain his early Charles Schwab gallop.

Extremely hot weather in the build-up and during the event, with no wind to help cool the greens, has meant Tour chiefs have had to heavily water the dancefloors. The receptive greens and breezeless skies mean scores in the low 60s are up for grabs, so the chasing pack will feel confident that they are still well in the hunt.

The rough is juicy and there are no spectators or grandstands to block errant shots, but players finding the fairways off the tee have a great opportunity to send a dart at their target on approach. In-running punters must decide who is best equipped to produce a Saturday sizzler.

Rory McIlroy loves soft greens and deserves his place at the head of the market, but it is his Saturday playing partner Xander Schauffele who may represent the best value at a general 10-1.

Schauffele was reportedly practising every day of the coronavirus suspension, so he has returned to action looking extremely sharp. As one of the circuit's young guns, without any children to worry about, the period on the sidelines afforded lots of time to work on his game and Colonial rounds of 65 and 66 have provided encouragement that the effort may pay off with a trophy.

Schauffele is eager to get back to winning ways, having posted four runner-up finishes since his last victory in January, 2019. He is comfortable playing alongside McIlroy, against whom he duelled for the WGC-HSBC title in November, and it would be a surprise if Schauffele did not turn this solid start into a title challenge down the stretch on Sunday.

Racing Post Sport ante-post selections Corey Conners and Abraham Ancer are still close enough to get involved with a strong Saturday, but it is probably wise to add Schauffele to the stable. Bet365, Betway, Coral, Hills and Ladbrokes are 10-1 as well as the best each-way terms – quarter the odds, the first four places.

Third-round twoball punters should consider Sungjae Im, another player with a strong work ethic who spent the vast majority of lockdown keeping his game in order. The Korean is an appealing favourite against Rafael Cabrera-Bello for their 5.20pm meeting.

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