Steve Palmer's CJ Cup at South Carolina first-round preview & golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the CJ Cup in South Carolina at Congaree on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 8pm Thursday

Best bets

Sungjae Im top Asian
2pts 14-5 bet365

Tyrrell Hatton to win 5.01pm threeball
1pt 11-8 general

Sahith Theegala to win 4.08pm threeball
1pt 11-10 bet365

First-round preview

Tom Kim has rocketed into the top 15 of the world rankings, having started the year outside the top 100, and the youngster has suddenly become a candidate for marquee threeballs. A CJ Cup first-round date in the illustrious company of Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler will be a fresh test of the Korean's mettle.

Kim has a reputation for fearlessness and he attacked his Presidents Cup debut before winning the Shriners Children's Open. The spotlight and weight of expectation is increasing with every appearance, though, and a meeting with a powerhouse duo on a long, wide-open track may expose some weakness.

McIlroy looks a solid play for the 3.20pm (UK and Ireland time) threeball, but a better way of opposing Kim may be by backing Sungjae Im for top Asian. Kim, one of the shorter hitters on the circuit, may find Congaree GC a slog, while Hideki Matsuyama has been inconsistent, battling for fitness and form for most of the year.

Im, in contrast, has been a model of consistency from the end of July onwards. He was second in the 3M Open, second in the Wyndham Championship, then a top-15 finisher in every FedEx Cup playoffs event, ending the Tour Championship as the second-best 72-hole scorer.

Bright at the Presidents Cup, then seventh in his Shriners title defence, Im seems by far the most likely Asian to contend for the CJ Cup.

Pick of the first-round threeballs options could be Tyrrell Hatton, who finished tied second at Congaree in last year's Palmetto Championship. His CJ Cup playing partners - Luke List and JT Poston - both missed the cut in the same event. Hatton has a class edge and 11-8 seems healthy.

An open layout which puts a premium on strong scrambling seems ideal for Sahith Theegala, who can boss Chris Kirk and Sanghun Shin in the 4.08pm contest.

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport