Steve Palmer's Zurich Classic of New Orleans final-round preview, best bets

Where to watch

Sky Sports Golf, 6pm Sunday

Best bets

Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith to win Sunday match
3pts 4-5 BoyleSports

Danny Willett and Tyrrell Hatton to win Sunday match
2pts 4-5 BoyleSports

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson to win Sunday match
2pts 8-11 bet365, BoyleSports, Hills

Story so far

South African duo Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel fired a Saturday 63 to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, and Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters victor, are a combination oozing class, but recent struggles have seen Schwartzel drop to 190th in the world rankings, meaning they started the Zurich at 33-1.

Oosthuizen has never lifted a trophy in America - his only PGA Tour success came at St Andrews, Scotland - so the 38-year-old will be eager for his great friend Schwartzel to retain his composure through Sunday.

The leaders are 11-4 favourites going into the final-round foursomes. Australian pairing Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith are tied for second place with the big-hitting union of Cameron Champ and Tony Finau. Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are tied for ninth place, four shots behind. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are tied for last place, nine adrift.

Leaderboard
-19 Louis Oosthuizen & Charl Schwartzel
-18 Marc Leishman & Cameron Smith, Cameron Champ & Tony Finau
-17 Bubba Watson & Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland & Kristoffer Ventura
-16 Thomas Pieters & Tom Lewis, Tyler Duncan & Adam Schenk, Keegan Bradley & Brendan Steele

Best prices
11-4 L Oosthuizen & C Schwartzel, 100-30 M Leishman & C Smith, 4 C Champ & T Finau, 15-2 B Watson & S Scheffler, 12 V Hovland & K Ventura, 33 K Bradley & B Steele, J Rahm & R Palmer, T Pieters & T Lewis, 50 bar

Final-round preview

Friendship and comfort in each other's company counts for plenty in pairs golf, and arguably no partnership in the Zurich Classic field is closer than Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. They typically bring out the best in each other.

The South Africans have been pals for almost three decades, first competing against each other at Randpark, Johannesburg, in 1994. Schwartzel, two years younger than Oosthuizen, was only ten. They teamed up for the first time in 2000, representing South Africa in an amateur competition in Japan, and have had a great relationship since.

Oosthuizen and Schwartzel finished third in the 2018 Zurich and would have entered the pre-tournament calculations of plenty of punters this week. They missed the cut together in 2019, though, and Schwartzel has been consistently poor since.

Under the strain of the Sunday foursomes - the most tense time of the tournament and with the most difficult format - it is doubtful whether Schwartzel's game will be solid enough for the pacesetters to repel the rest of the field. It is reasonable to expect Schwartzel to do some damage to the South Africans' scorecard at some stage in round four, and 11-4 is unattractive.

Loose drives could also be an issue in the Cameron Champ and Tony Finau partnership. Champ slapped an ugly slice into the water at the 18th hole in round three and was fortunate Finau played the hole perfectly for birdie. Neither can be backed with confidence to find a fairway - and both are fragile on the greens. Throw in the tension which seems to build on Sundays in Finau - who has only the 2016 Puerto Rico Open to his name - and the 4-1 about them can be left alone.

It is asking a lot of Kristoffer Ventura, a PGA Tour maiden who has missed the cut in ten of his previous 14 tournaments, to hold himself together alongside Viktor Hovland in Sunday foursomes. Ventura and Hovland, compatriots and former college teammates, have magic chemistry, but, like with Oosthuizen and Schwartzel, that may not be enough to get the job done in New Orleans.

The tournament, then, may turn into a battle between Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, and Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler.

Leishman and Smith are great buddies, who finished tied second in the last World Cup of Golf, and both arrived in New Orleans after confidence-boosting Masters performances. Smith has rock-solid form figures of 4-11-17-10-9 from his last five individual strokeplay events, while Leishman confirmed he has emerged from a mini-slump with fifth place in the Masters last time out.

Leishman and Smith are a tight, balanced unit, who seem likely to head down the stretch with a winning chance, having moved to within one shot of the lead.

Watson has expressed his affection for the foursomes format throughout the week - explaining that it helps his often wandering mind to focus better - and he said he would be delighted if the Zurich became a 72-hole foursomes event. Scheffler echoed those thoughts after round three, so the dual Masters champion and the WGC-Match Play runner-up seem to be looking forward to the Sunday assignment.

Watson, the 2011 Zurich winner and fifth alongside JB Holmes in the inaugural pairs event in 2017, has formed a fresh and lively partnership with Scheffler. From only two shots behind, they are well in the trophy hunt, with a sunny, calm final round forecast.

Watson and Scheffler were the only ante-post Racing Post Sport selections - at a general 14-1 - and hopes are high that they can finish with a flourish. Punters with a decent investment in the mercurial left-hander and the big-hitting Texan may choose to have some cover on Leishman and Smith at 100-30. The Aussies are a more than fair price. Those who can access the Leishman-Smith, Watson-Scheffler dual forecast should consider that option too.

Punters betting on the final-round matches are pointed towards Leishman and Smith, who could be too steady for Oosthuizen and Schwartzel in the final group (6.55pm UK and Ireland time).

Danny Willett and Tyrrell Hatton (5.11pm) also look solid favourites against Sepp Straka and Josh Teater, while Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson (4.44pm) are bursting with top-flight foursomes experience together and can outscore Grayson Murray and Rob Oppenheim.

Not got a Paddy Power account? Sign up and get up to £50 in free sports bets

Place a single £10 Sportsbook bet and get money back as a free bet if it loses. There are x5 Free Bets available. Max refund per qualifying bet is £10. Only deposits made via Credit/Debit Card will be eligible for the promotion. Paddy's Rewards Club: Get a £10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £10+. T&Cs apply 18+ begambleaware.org

MORE FREE BETS