Steve Palmer's Tour Championship final-day preview, best bets, free golf tips

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bets

Xander Schauffele to lead after round three
3pts 13-8 BoyleSports

Rory McIlroy without Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele
2pts 12-5 BoyleSports

Story so far

A lightning threat curtailed day three of the Tour Championship prematurely, meaning the FedEx Cup hopefuls are set for a marathon Sunday at East Lake, Georgia.

The weather gods had a significant impact on Saturday, with play delayed by an hour, then Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele were hauled off the course after teeing off at the par-four 13th as storms circled the area.

Scheffler is one shot ahead of Schauffele through 48 holes of the PGA Tour finale. Schauffele is two shots ahead of Sungjae Im, who made an early Saturday charge up the leaderboard, while two-time FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy is alone in fourth spot.

Scheffler, who started day three a 4-5 chance, has drifted to 11-10. Schauffele is 2-1, while McIlroy has become an 11-1 poke to complete a FedEx hat-trick.

The action is scheduled to resume at 9.45am local time (2.45pm UK and Ireland). It remains to be seen whether Sky Sports Golf provide a red button option for the Tour Championship until their orginal 4.30pm coverage starting time. With Sky Sports Golf originally planning to show the DP World Tour's European Masters and Sky Sports Arena set for the Ladies European Tour event, it is worth checking both to see if the Tour Championship round-three conclusion is being shown instead.

Leaderboard
-19 Scottie Scheffler (through 48 holes)
-18 Xander Schauffele (48)
-16 Sungjae Im (50)
-15 Rory McIlroy (52)
-14 Justin Thomas (53), Jon Rahm (49), Patrick Cantlay (49)

Leaderboard without pre-tournament handicaps
-12 Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im
-11 Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Hoge, Aaron Wise

Best outright prices
11-10 S Scheffler, 2 X Schauffele, 10 S Im, 11 R McIlroy, 25 J Rahm, 40 J Thomas, P Cantlay, 125 bar

Best 72-hole scorer prices
9-2 X Schauffele, 5 R McIlroy, 11-2 J Rahm, 8 J Thomas, S Im, 14 bar

Final-round preview

Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are both in good shape after their drives at the 13th hole. Both players took three-wood off the tee and have just over 130 yards for their approach. Schauffele has a better angle to the pin and more chance of making birdie.

Sungjae Im looks set for a two-putt par at the 15th hole, so the most likely clubhouse score for the Korean is 17 under par, with the par-five 18th playing so generously. Rory McIlroy would love to reach 17 under par - he needs to close with two birdies or a par and an eagle to get there - so Scheffler and Schauffele have the opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the rest prior to round four.

Holes 14 and 15 are serious early tests for Scheffler and Schauffele when play resumes. The scope for dropped shots on the long par-four and the par-three over water is significant - then the American duo will hope to pick up some birdies over the final three holes.

Scheffler is on 19 under par and given how shaky he looked at times on Saturday, that score seems his most likely one through 54 holes. Aside from a brilliant approach from the sand at the eighth hole, the world number one was unimpressive.

Schauffele twice drew level with Scheffler in round three - first with a birdie at the third, then again with a birdie at the seventh - but on each occasion Schauffele immediately dropped into second at the subsequent hole. That will have frustrated the Californian, but the suspicion is at some stage Schauffele will seize the lead and keep it.

He has looked much the more solid of the pair over the last 27 holes. Scheffler is the 14th-best scorer in the 29-man field - his lead down largely to the minus-ten starting handicap.

A large each-way wager was recommended by Racing Post Sport on Xander Schauffele at 8-1 ante-post, getting five places, so hopes are high that the perennial East Lake performer stays in the thick of things. He has had the look of a champion this week, with his golf, his course-management and his demeanour, keeping a level head whatever happens.

Schauffele's East Lake record is incredible and he can put the icing on that cake by winning a first FedEx Cup today. Scheffler has had the target on his back all week - having at least a share of the lead through 48 holes - and he appears to be feeling the strain. There is an $11.5m difference between first and second place this week - and that makes this a mental challenge as much as anything. Schauffele, who has been in red-hot trophy-winning form in the second half of the season, seems best equipped to complete the job.

Perhaps Schauffele at 20 under, Scheffler at 19, Im 17, McIlroy 16, will be the scores through three rounds, with Schauffele repelling Scheffler and McIlroy over the final 18 holes in the forecast sunny, warm (gentle breezes) conditions.

Schauffele seems a juicy price at 13-8 to finish round three in front, while McIlroy can be backed at 12-5 in the betting without Scheffler and Schauffele. McIlroy has been enjoying himself at East Lake as per usual and has bounced back superbly from his triple-bogey at the first hole. Expect a finishing flourish in round four. It may not be enough to topple the Americans in front of him, but the Northern Irishman can triumph in this market.

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