Steve Palmer's Fortinet Championship final-round preview, best bets, free tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 11pm Sunday

Best bets

Max Homa to win Fortinet Championship
3pts 9-4 general

Rory McIlroy to win Italian Open (15-8), Dustin Johnson to win LIV Golf Chicago (9-4) and Max Homa to win Fortinet (9-4)
1pt treble bet365

Byeong Hun An to win 6.01pm threeball
1pt 15-8 general

Advised yesterday morning

Byeong Hun An to win Fortinet Championship
1.5pts each-way 12-1 bet365

Sahith Theegala to win Fortinet Championship
1.5pts each-way 12-1 BoyleSports

Story so far

Max Homa remains in contention for a successful Fortinet Championship title defence and a 16-1 victory which will be extremely popular with many members of the golf betting community.

Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick have been justifying their market status in the Italian Open, while Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith are doing likewise in LIV Golf Chicago. Homa, who was jostling Hideki Matsuyama for ante-post Fortinet favouritism, is tied for second place with 18 holes to play at Silverado Resort.

The Californian has become a 9-4 chance going into the final round. Homa is one shot behind PGA Tour maiden Justin Lower. Former Masters champion Danny Willett is tied for second place.
Lower started the week at 125-1, but is 3-1 to convert his slender advantage into a breakthrough success.

Leaderboard
-13 Justin Lower
-12 Max Homa, Danny Willett
-11 Byeong Hun An
-10 Davis Thompson, Paul Haley, Adam Svensson, Matt Kuchar
-9 Harrison Endycott, Mark Hubbard, Austin Smotherman, Sahith Theegala

Best prices
9-4 M Homa, 3 J Lower, 11-2 D Willett, 10 B H An, 20 M Kuchar, 22 A Svensson, 25 S Theegala, 28 D Thompson, 33 P Haley, 50 M Hubbard, 66 bar

Final-round preview

Rain is coming in Napa and the Silverado Resort is set for a drenching, so the PGA Tour have moved tee-times forward. No thunderstorms are expected, so cynics might suggest that sending the final threeball out at 6.12pm UK and Ireland time - three minutes before the start of LIV Golf Chicago's denouement - may be a political rather than logistical move.

Punters do not need to get embroiled in any of that, though, and should focus instead on jumping aboard Max Homa at 9-4.

The 11-8 Homa was resisted yesterday morning in favour of the 12-1 about Byeong Hun An and Sahith Theegala. The 9-4 available about Homa with 18 holes to play, though, seems more than fair. Homa plays well in the rain - he won the Wells Fargo Championship in May in horrible conditions - and he seems the man to beat.

Theegala did not do enough on Saturday to stay in the thick of things, while An has to deal with a gutbusting finish to round three. The Korean, seeking to get his career back on track after a spell in the doldrums, covered the final three holes of round three in two over par. There are two par-fives in that stretch, so An will be kicking himself. He is still well in contention, but could approach those closing holes tentatively.

Hopefully An (three places) and Theegala (four) can deliver each-way returns from fourth place and ninth place respectively, but a win bet on Homa at 9-4 seems a solid investment at this stage.

Concerns about his focus have been largely dispelled through three rounds. Despite carrying a cold putter throughout Saturday, Homa stayed only one shot behind, and if he returns to his usual putting standard on Sunday, the rest of the field will be worried.

Homa to win, with An, Danny Willett and Theegala chasing him home, is the prediction. It would be Homa's third PGA Tour victory in his home state of California.

There is a double opportunity in putting Homa with Dustin Johnson for LIV Golf Chicago, which pays 19-2 for punters getting 9-4 apiece. And treble fans reading this early should consider adding Rory McIlroy for the Italian Open. McIlroy tees off as a 19-10 chance in Rome at 11.30am UK and Ireland time. The treble pays almost 30-1 with bet365.

The final Fortinet threeball of Homa, Justin Lower and Danny Willett is scheduled off at 6.12pm. The most appealing threeball option is An, who should arguably be favourite against Davis Thompson and Paul Haley (6.01pm).

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