Steve Palmer's Chevron Championship predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club on the LPGA Tour.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 5pm Thursday

Best bets

Lydia Ko
1.5pts each-way 12-1 general

Patty Tavatanakit
1pt each-way 22-1 bet365

Tournament preview

Jin Young Ko is 5-1 favourite for the Chevron Championship - the first Major of the LPGA season - and plenty of punters will be keeping their staking plan simple this week and opting for the massively in-form Korean.

Ko has won six of her last 12 tournaments - a jaw-dropping Tiger-esque 50 per cent strike-rate - and many LPGA fans will feel an each-way investment in the market leader is almost guaranteed a return.

Jin Young has not won a Major for almost three years though - and her last two Major appearances resulted in 46th place in the PGA Championship and 60th in the Evian Championship - so preference is for two top-class operators at bigger odds.

Americans have a poor record in the first Major of the year - no home-grown talent has won this event since 2015 - and that trend could continue. Nelly Korda is sidelined with a blood clot in her arm while Lexi Thompson is winless since June, 2019.

New Zealander Lydia Ko appeals as the best option. This former prodigy, who was world number one at the age of 17, won a Major at 18 and dominated the sport for four years. From 2017 onwards, trophies have been less forthcoming, but Ko appears to have got her act together over the last year and can claim a third Major title at Mission Hills Country Club on Sunday.

Ko won the Lotte Championship by seven shots last April to signal her return to form, then followed up with the Saudi Ladies International title in November, then the Gainbridge LPGA at the end of January.

A bout of Covid has meant a light schedule in recent weeks, but Ko said the illness impacted her physically for only about seven days, and 12th place in the JTBC Classic last week was a decent warm-up spin for the Chevron.

Ko won this event in 2016 and has finished sixth and second the last two years. She signed off with a course-record 62 last year and can lay down the greatest challenge to her namesake Jin Young.

Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit should provide a stout defence. The 2021 Rookie of the Year says her game is in much better shape than it was when she triumphed 12 months ago - an ominous warning to her rivals. She was low amateur in the 2019 Major at Mission Hills and the Bangkok Bombshell is enjoying a solid season. The action starts at 2.30pm UK and Ireland time.

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