Steve Palmer's World Wide Technology Championship third-round preview, best bets

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 6pm Saturday

Best bets

Viktor Hovland to win threeball
3pts 5-6 Betfair, Power

Story so far

Matthew Wolff, 50-1 ante-post, leads the World Wide Technology Championship by two shots at the halfway stage.

The Californian, who broke the El Camaleon course record with a first-round 61, followed up with a 68 to reach 13 under par. He was 15 under par with three holes of his second round to play, but bogeys at the 16th and 18th encouraged the chasing pack.

Wolff is a stand-out 4-1 with bet365 to convert his advantage into victory. PGA Tour maiden Scottie Scheffler is alone in second place, with defending champion Viktor Hovland tied for third spot, a further shot off the pace.

Pre-tournament favourite, Justin Thomas, is in the logjam for fifth place, four shots behind Wolff. The players are out in threeballs for round three, with the final group teeing off at 4.20pm UK and Ireland time.

Leaderboard
-13 Matthew Wolff
-11 Scottie Scheffler
-10 Carlos Ortiz, Viktor Hovland
-9 Bill Haas, Anirban Lahiri, Michael Thompson, Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Aaron Wise, Billy Horschel, Ryan Palmer, Justin Thomas, JJ Spaun

Best prices
4 M Wolff, 11-2 S Scheffler, 6 V Hovland, 8 J Thomas, 14 C Ortiz, 18 B Horschel, 22 A Wise, 25 S Garcia, 28 T Gooch, 40 bar

Third-round preview

Matthew Wolff had a four-shot lead teeing off on the 16th hole in round two of the Mayakoba event, but an untidy journey to the clubhouse saw that advantage half and create a wide-open tournament.

Wolff has made a superb Mayakoba debut, but errant driving is severely punished at El Camaleon, and it is questionable whether the leader will have the tee-to-green solidity to get the job done over the weekend.

Wolff had a golden chance of victory in the Shriners Children's Open in his last start, but lost his swing in the final round. Having started the Sunday in Las Vegas two shots ahead of Sungjae Im, Wolff ended it four shots behind, despite putting well.

Scottie Scheffler, full of confidence since making a superb Ryder Cup debut in September, has set up a good opportunity for a Tour breakthrough. And Viktor Hovland, despite having his driver snapped by Danny Lee on the El Camaleon range before the tournament, is making an excellent title retention bid.

Billy Horschel, Aaron Wise and Justin Thomas seem the most dangerous runners from the huge pack on nine under par. It is difficult to be bullish about who will win this low-scoring shootout, with soft, calm conditions expected for round three, but perhaps Hovland (6-1) and Horschel (18-1) represent the best value.

Hovland was massively unfortunate to hit a sprinkler head with his approach to the first hole - his ball bounced out of bounds - but he is swinging superbly and clearly adores the El Camaleon assignment. The weather gods have helped too, providing the cut in the ground he enjoyed on his way to glory 12 months ago.

Horschel blazed to a 65-64 weekend in this event last year and a birdie at his closing hole of round two has left him nicely placed to launch another Mayakoba title tilt.

Hovland can be fancied to take charge of the penultimate Saturday threeball - against Bill Haas and Anirban Lahiri at 4.09pm.