Steve Palmer's PNC Championship predictions, best bets, free golf tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the PNC Championship.

When to bet

Tournament starts 2pm Saturday

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf, 5.30pm Saturday

Bets bets

Team Thomas
5pts 13-8 Betfred

Tournament preview

Tiger Woods will step back on to a golf course with a scorecard in his pocket in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday afternoon - the greatest player of his generation returning to the fairways in the PNC Championship pairs event at Ritz-Carlton GC.

When pictures emerged of the car wreckage from which Woods had been extricated in February, the chances of him competing again appeared remote, and he has since revealed that doctors considered amputating his right leg.

Less than ten months later, though, the 15-time Major champion is teeing up in front of the cameras again in a two-day, 36-hole, scramble shootout, partnering son Charlie, as he did in last year's PNC Championship.

Twenty teams are going to post in this family affair - Nelly Korda, partnering former tennis star father Petr Korda, is the only woman in the field - and Team Woods will hog most of the attention. There are only four duos ahead of Tiger and Charlie in the betting, but surely given the physical state of the senior partner, the wooden spoon seems more realistic than the trophy.

Even when fully fit for the PNC previously, Tiger opted to play as few shots as possible, preferring to leave as much of the work as he could to his boy. This time, Charlie has even greater responsibility. With no lower-body strength and far less range of movement, Tiger has lost an enormous amount of driving distance, and this weekend's 7,414-yard, par-72 will be a slog for the Woods clan.

Charlie is only 12 - the second-youngest player in the field - and, sad as it is to say, Team Woods is probably the worst value side in the betting. The market has been fascinating this week, with bookmakers issuing prices, then suddenly closing their books a few hours later. Betfred are one of few who remain up with odds.

Perhaps the layers who have taken evasive action have been getting filled in on the favourites. Team Thomas - Justin and his club-pro dad Mike - are the father-son combo on which punters should concentrate.

They won last year despite first-time nerves for Mike and can be fancied to successfully defend. The 13-8 about Team Thomas seems full of juice in a competition seriously lacking strength in depth.

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