Steve Palmer's RSM Classic final-round preview, best bets, free golf tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf red button, 6pm Sunday

Best bets

Sahith Theegala to win RSM Classic
2pts 15-2 Hills

Seamus Power to win 3.22pm threeball
2pts 5-4 general

Story so far

The RSM Classic is wide open with 18 holes to play at the Seaside Course in Georgia - 12 players are within two shots of the lead.

Patrick Rodgers, a PGA Tour maiden at the age of 30, is joint-leader and 5-1 favourite. Rodgers enjoyed a fantastic amateur career, but has failed to make the expected impact in the professional ranks. A playoff defeat in the 2018 RSM Classic is the closest he has come to victory.

Ben Martin, whose only PGA Tour success came in the 2014 Shriners Children's Open, is tied for the lead and available at 10-1. Ante-post, Rodgers was 45-1 and Martin was 250-1.

Brian Harman, the pre-tournament 22-1 favourite, is tied for sixth place, two shots behind, shortening to 10-1 through 54 holes. A chilly but relatively calm final day is forecast.

Leaderboard
-14 Patrick Rodgers, Ben Martin
-13 Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala, Andrew Putnam
-12 Brian Harman, Taylor Pendrith, Taylor Montgomery, Alex Smalley, Kevin Streelman, Beau Hossler, Harry Higgs
-11 Ben Taylor, Will Gordon, Seamus Power, Callum Tarren

Best prices
5 P Rodgers, 15-2 S Theegala, A Putnam, 10 B Martin, B Harman, 12 A Svensson, T Montgomery, 18 T Pendrith, A Smalley, 22 B Hossler, 25 S Power, 28 K Streelman, 35 W Gordon, 40 H Higgs, 50 B Taylor, 66 bar

Final-round preview

The final threeball of Patrick Rodgers, Ben Martin and Adam Svensson is scheduled to tee off at 4.06pm UK and Ireland time - and long-time golf punters will be wondering whether they are finally going to see Rodgers make his PGA Tour breakthrough.

When the Indiana-born swinger first arrived on the scene, big things were expected, as he had been a prolific champion at Stanford University. He matched records that were set by Tiger Woods in his time at the same college.

Rodgers has been a pro since June, 2014, though, and his only silverware has come on the Korn Ferry Tour - the 2015 Colombia Championship. In the 2018 RSM Classic, it seemed the moment had finally come on the PGA Tour, but Charles Howell birdied three of his final four holes of regulation play and then the second hole of the playoff.

Rodgers says he and swing coach Jeff Smith made strides in the close-season and form figures of 28-16-3-27-16 are solid. The powerhouse should go close, but trusting somebody at 5-1 who is making their 226th PGA Tour start without success, is unappealing.

Martin is the world number 372 and even less enticing, so punters are advised to delve deeper on the leaderboard for their Sunday investments.

Racing Post Sport pre-tournament recommendation, Seamus Power, is still in the hunt from only three shots behind, and hopes are high that the Irishman can conjure a low round to finish. Power carded a 63 at the Seaside Course in last year's RSM Classic and has been in red-hot form on the PGA Tour of late.

Andrew Putnam, Brian Harman and Taylor Montgomery are all tempting options - all have been playing well and have got the putting ability to deliver the Sunday sizzler which is probably going to be required to win this.

Preference as a back-up to the ante-post Power wager, though, is the 15-2 about Sahith Theegala - a rising star of the sport.

Theegala, a 24-year-old Californian playing his second season on the PGA Tour, finished third in the Phoenix Open in February, then seventh in the Valspar Championship, fifth in the Memorial, second in the Travelers, sixth in the Fortinet Championship, and fifth in the Zozo Championship a month ago. This is a talent knocking loudly at the door of the winner's enclosure.

It seems almost inevitable that Theegala will win on the PGA Tour - and the rough edges he had when he first arrived on the circuit appear to be falling off. A bogey-free Saturday round at the Seaside Course underlines the progress.

In Phoenix, Theegala had Scottie Scheffler to deal with, and in the Travelers he was up against Xander Schauffele down the stretch. The relative newcomer was entitled to feel nerves in that company, but Theegala will look at the RSM Classic leaderboard without fear.

Final-round threeball punters are pointed towards Power, who can boss the 3.22pm group. Power, accurate from tee to green and an excellent scrambler, has all the tools to tame the Seaside Course. Ben Taylor and Will Gordon complete the threeball.

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