Steve Palmer's CJ Cup final-round preview, best bets and free golf betting tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 7.30pm Sunday

Best bets

K.H Lee top-five finish
3pts 4-6 BoyleSports

K.H Lee betting without McIlroy, Rahm, Thomas & Scheffler
2pts 11-4 BoyleSports

Tom Kim to win 5.16pm threeball
2pts 13-10 general

Bio Kim to win 3.47pm threeball
1pt 9-2 Betfair, Power

Story so far

Rory McIlroy took over at the top of the CJ Cup leaderboard, courtesy of two eagles in round three, and the pre-tournament 7-1 favourite is no bigger than 13-10 with 18 holes to play at Congaree Golf Club, South Carolina.

McIlroy was level par for the other 16 holes of his third round, but eagle threes at the fourth and the 12th put the Northern Irishman in command. His approach shot to the fourth hole was one of the shots of the tournament, but the eagle at the 12th required a lot of luck as his putt from off the green hammered into the flagstick at pace.

McIlroy is a shade of odds-against across the board to convert this slender lead into a successful title defence - a victory which could see him return to the world number one ranking. With Scottie Scheffler playing so badly - tied for 47th place in the 78-runner event - McIlroy definitely has a return to the top of the rankings in his thoughts.

Jon Rahm is tied for second place, a shot behind, alongside Kurt Kitayama and K.H Lee. The market is 22-1 bar the front four on the leaderboard. The final threeball of McIlroy, Kitayama and Lee tees off at 5.40pm UK and Ireland time, with Sky Sports coverage starting disgustingly late at 7.30pm.

Leaderboard
-13 Rory McIlroy
-12 K.H Lee, Kurt Kitayama, Jon Rahm
-10 Taylor Moore, Aaron Wise
-9 Tom Kim, Brendon Todd

Best prices
13-10 R McIlroy, 13-5 J Rahm, 17-2 K.H Lee, 9 K Kitayama, 22 A Wise, 33 T Kim, 40 T Moore, 100 bar

Final-round preview

Rory McIlroy enjoyed plenty of fortune in round three and the former world number one was probably not feeling ultra-confident about winning the trophy when he walked to the clubhouse on Saturday evening.

McIlroy was unconvincing over the closing stretch, inviting pressure from behind. A par was the likely result at the 12th hole had his eagle putt from off the green not clattered into the flagstick, while he scrambled a par at the 13th and needed a brilliant chip to salvage a bogey at the 14th.

Despite a lucky bounce out of a sprinkler head at the 15th, which set up a great birdie chance, McIlroy missed that, then he hooked his drive at the 16th, getting an incredible slap back into play by a tree branch, resulting in a birdie.

Another hooked drive at the 17th meant bogey, before a par at 18, and McIlroy knows he needs to tidy up his game if he is to defend this lead and potentially become world number one again. McIlroy seems the most likely winner, but only by fractions given Jon Rahm is a shot behind.

Rahm, in contrast to McIlroy, left the course with his head held high on Saturday night. Life was not going well for Rahm through 11 holes of round three - a three-putt bogey at the eighth hole was followed by another bogey at the tenth and another three-putt bogey at the 11th. It was crisis point for Rahm supporters - he had fallen five shots behind McIlroy.

Rahm was rattled and a volcano was brewing in his head, but he played the 12th superbly to pick up a shot, covering his final seven holes in three under par. A Houdini-like par from serious strife at the 16th was followed by a brilliant birdie at 17, and Rahm spoke afterwards about how proud he was with his battling performance.

Golf is a game played between the ears and there is no doubt Rahm feels he has got his 'bad day' out the way. Expect, like him, for Sunday to be a smoother ride, and for the Spanish ace to boss the penultimate threeball.

Rahm, playing in front of McIlroy, has a great chance to assert himself and pile pressure on the man behind. McIlroy talked a lot about the world-number-one ranking in his pre-tournament media conference - and about how proud he would be to secure a ninth spell at the rankings summit - and Rahm is well placed to load tension into McIlroy's shoulders.

Punters would probably be wise to keep their focus on McIlroy and Rahm. Kurt Kitayama is a PGA Tour maiden with huge technical flaws in his game and it would be a shock should he manage to overcome two of the world's best in a tight shootout.

K.H Lee has better credentials - two PGA Tour titles to his name - but the class of McIlroy and Rahm should tell. Rahm, Racing Post Sport's pre-tournament recommendation at 9-1, looks a big price at 13-5 with 18 holes to play.

Punters with a significant bet on Rahm may choose to take some 13-10 McIlroy as cover. McIlroy backers could do the opposite. Punters yet to get involved at this stage should consider the 13-5 Rahm or try to find a bookmaker offering a dual-forecast price.

A sunny, pleasant day, with light breezes, is forecast. Rahm, who got a fresh injection of self-belief from winning the Spanish Open last time out, can take the title, with McIlroy finishing second, Lee third, with Aaron Wise and Tom Kim battling for fourth spot.

Lee, who won two points from three matches in the Presidents Cup a month ago, looks a bargain at 11-4 in BoyleSports's market which eliminates McIlroy and Rahm (and Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler for what it's worth). Lee should hang around the lead throughout, with Kitayama more likely to drop away.

The 4-6 about Lee for a top-five finish seems more than fair, while final-round threeballs punters are pointed towards the Kims - Tom and Bio.

Tom Kim continues to effortlessly glide through his PGA Tour career, seemingly unflappable, and the rising star should be trusted against Brendon Todd and Tommy Fleetwood in the 5.16pm contest.

With Max Homa struggling with a back injury this week and Cameron Young having driver issues (he switched the head after round two, borrowing one off Webb Simpson), Bio Kim could be a lively outsider in the 3.47pm group. The world number 129 has won twice on the Korean Tour this year.

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