Steve Palmer's CJ Cup at Summit Club final-round preview, best bets, free tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 10pm Sunday

Best bets

Rory McIlroy to win the CJ Cup
4pts 5-2 general

Matt Fitzpatrick to win the Andalucia Masters (11-4) & Rory McIlroy to win the CJ Cup (5-2)
1pt each-way doublegeneral

Collin Morikawa to win threeball
2pts Evens Betfair, Power

Maverick McNealy to win threeball
2pts 13-8 Betfair, Power

Story so far

Rickie Fowler leads the CJ Cup at Summit Club by two shots heading into the final round of the Las Vegas shootout.

Fowler, who languishes 128th in the world rankings and has not won a PGA Tour event since February, 2019, fired a sizzling Saturday 63 to reach 21 under par through 54 holes. He has shortened from a best-price 140-1 to 11-5 over the first three rounds.

Rory McIlroy went even better than that - a bogey-free 62 moving the Northern Irishman to second spot on his own - and the former world No. 1 is 5-2 from an ante-post 18-1.

Halfway pacesetter, Keith Mitchell, slashed from 300-1 to 2-1 after rounds of 62 and 64, followed up with a 73 to drop into a share of sixth place, four shots behind.

Fowler, McIlroy and Abraham Ancer comprise the final threeball, teeing off at 7.50pm UK and Ireland time. Sunny, relatively calm weather is forecast, with winds peaking at 11 mph and temperature high of 27C.

Leaderboard
-21 Rickie Fowler
-19 Rory McIlroy
-18 Abraham Ancer, Robert Streb, Adam Scott
-17 Tyrrell Hatton, Keith Mitchell
-16 Cameron Smith, Ian Poulter
-15 Sam Burns, Aaron Wise, Erik van Rooyen, Harry Higgs
-14 Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, Sung Kang

Best prices
11-5 R Fowler, 5-2 R McIlroy, 15-2 A Ancer, 8 A Scott, 16 T Hatton, 20 R Streb, 28 C Smith, K Mitchell, 50 I Poulter, 66 S Burns, 80 A Wise, 100 E Van Rooyen, C Morikawa, 150 bar

Final-round preview

The European Ryder Cup team have responded well to their Whistling Straits thrashing and today could be a wonderful one for two members of Padraig Harrington's defeated side.

Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood did well in the Dunhill Links Championship on their return to action - all finishing in the top seven - and Matt Fitzpatrick looks set to threaten victory in the Andalucia Masters (tees off 11.50am UK and Ireland time today).

Across the Atlantic, Rory McIlroy is in a superb position to win the CJ Cup and put Ryder Cup heartache behind him. The Fitzpatrick-McIlroy double pays more than 12-1 generally - and punters looking for a super Sunday should consider pairing the Ryder Cup colleagues.

Rickie Fowler is taking a lead into the final round of a PGA Tour event for the first time in 988 days. It is a huge moment for the Californian, who has been in the golfing wilderness for almost two years. In May, 2019, he was ranked tenth in the world, but these days even qualifying for the main tournaments on the calendar has become a struggle.

Fowler worked intensively in the close-season - and a session with former coach Butch Harmon appears to have worked wonders for confidence. Harmon apparently gave his nod of approval to the swing changes Fowler had made with his full-time coach John Tillery. A breakthrough has clearly been made in Vegas, but birdies from just off the pace on a Saturday are much easier to find than when defending a lead on Sunday.

The suspicion is the long victory drought and poor world ranking will put too much pressure on Fowler. If his tinkered technique handles this test and he claims the trophy, the former world number one amateur would be right back in business. His last PGA Tour win came in the desert (Phoenix Open) and his last European Tour win also (Abu Dhabi). Summit Club is an ideal venue for the renaissance - and with lesser opposition behind he would have a golden chance - but the presence of McIlroy changes things.

McIlroy relishes Tom Fazio-designed layouts. McIlroy's last victory came at Quail Hollow - a Fazio track where he has won three times - and he has slowly but surely moved up the gears at Summit Club. He has not dropped a shot over the last two days and has made Summit Club look easy.

McIlroy appears relaxed and in a positive frame of mind. There is obviously some talent behind him on the board - and hopefully 60-1 Racing Post Sport recommendation Aaron Wise can run into a places - but this tournament could turn into a thrilling duel between two good friends. McIlroy can upset his pal Fowler.

Collin Morikawa has paid the price for a terrible half-hour on Friday - he dropped four shots in three holes from the tenth to the 12th - but generally the Summit Club member has thrived on his home track. Morikawa is worth supporting for his Sunday threeball (7.02pm) against Harry Higgs and Russell Henley, while another Summit member, Maverick McNealy, can win the 6.21pm contest.

McNealy has faltered when getting close to the lead this week - the PGA Tour maiden knew this week was a great opportunity and has probably felt an added layer of pressure - but from eight shots behind on Sunday his fans should see a more free-flowing performance.

McNealy has a 61 to his name at Summit in practice, is getting ever more comfortable on the PGA Tour, and can be fancied for a finishing flourish.

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