Steve Palmer's Farmers Insurance Open third-round preview, best bets, free tips

When to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 6pm Saturday

Best bets

Keegan Bradley to win threeball
2pts 5-4 bet365, Betfair, Sky Bet

Brandon Wu to win threeball
2pts 17-10 Betway

Day-three preview

In-form Texan Ryan Palmer leads the Farmers Insurance Open by two shots going into the weekend, the ante-post 60-1 chance assuming 5-1 favouritism, having fired a second-round 62 at Torrey Pines North.

Carding a super-low round at the North Course has been a key to success for many Farmers champions – three of the four rounds in this event are staged at the more difficult South Course – and Palmer made 11 birdies in a superb Friday effort.

The 43-year-old has won three times as an individual on the PGA Tour – his last success coming in the 2010 Sony Open – and he partnered Jon Rahm to victory in the Zurich Classic pairs event last April. One of three playoffs he has lost in his career came in the 2018 Farmers – he was the first to bow out in extra holes against Jason Day and Alex Noren.

Anyone on Palmer at juicy prices should obviously be on good terms with themselves – and form figures of 37-12-10-17-4 this season highlight how well he has been playing – but there is no urge to touch the short odds against his name with 36 holes to go. If you ignore the Zurich win with the brilliant Rahm alongside, Palmer has gone a decade without lifting a trophy, and that fact will probably have a significant bearing on the final round should the Amarillo man still be on the way to a possible victory on Sunday.

There is so much world-class talent lurking just off the pace that Palmer is almost certainly going to have to repel a golfing great or two if he is to get the job done. All credit will be due if he does – and this likeable lad will be a popular champion – but punters risking hard-earned cash should probably be looking at the bigger odds about members of the chasing pack.

Brandt Snedeker is a two-time Farmers champion who deserves plenty of respect from second place, but Rahm (five shots behind and 15-2), Rory McIlroy (six behind and 10-1), Tiger Woods (six behind and 18-1) and Hideki Matsuyama (six behind and 33-1) will all expect to close the gap on the lead in round three. The superstar quartet appreciate the stiff ball-striking test of the South and seem likely to pile pressure on Palmer and Co over the weekend.

Woods, who four-putted from 24 feet on the first hole of round two and recovered manfully from the gutbusting double-bogey start, could be the best value of all at 18-1. The eight-time Torrey Pines champion is still well in the hunt and any warming of the putter should put him in the thick of things.

Woods tees off at 3.55pm UK and Ireland time, with the final threeball of Palmer, Snedeker and JB Holmes set for 5.45pm. Third-round threeball punters are pointed towards Keegan Bradley, who should prove too solid from tee to green on the difficult South layout for playing partners Zac Blair and Beau Hossler (5.25pm).

Brandon Wu, a potentially top-class Californian youngster, can be fancied to see off Mark Anderson and Richy Werenski in their 4.25pm meeting.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport