Steve Palmer's Masters second-round preview, best bets, free golf tips

When to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 12pm Friday

Best bet

Justin Thomas first-round leader
1pt 7-4 general

Story so far

The first round of the Masters will resume at noon UK and Ireland time after opening-day thunderstorms suspended play for three hours and darkness brought a premature end to proceedings.

Among those yet to finish their first rounds are Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, who heard the hooter go off when they were playing the tenth hole. Johnson, three under par through nine holes, will start Friday playing from the middle of the fairway, with 156 yards to the flag. McIlroy, level par, is in the greenside bunker in two shots, while Cantlay, two under, is just off the left of the green and also facing an up-and-down for a par four.

The group of Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Matthew Fitzpatrick also has plenty of holes to play. Thomas, five under par through ten holes, drove into the second cut to the left of the 11th fairway just before Thursday play was halted, so he will face a difficult second shot from 210 yards at the tough par-four.

Koepka, two over par, was one of the only big names to struggle on an opening day when soft conditions meant many in the field went birdie crazy. Paul Casey, a pre-tournament 66-1 chance, carded a 65 to hit the front.

Thomas has become 5-1 market leader, with Johnson 13-2 and Casey 18-1. Tiger Woods, who rediscovered some form to shoot a 68 as defending champion, is also an 18-1 chance.

Leaderboard (holes played)
-7 Paul Casey (18)
-5 Webb Simpson (18), Xander Schauffele (18), Justin Thomas (10)
-4 Hideki Matsuyama (18), Lee Westwood (18), Louis Oosthuizen (18), Patrick Reed (18), Tiger Woods (18), Matt Wolff (11), Adam Scott (10), Dylan Frittelli (9)

Selected others (holes played)
-3 Jon Rahm (18), Dustin Johnson (9), Justin Rose (9)
-2 Bryson DeChambeau (18), Patrick Cantlay (9)
Par Rory McIlroy (9)
+2 Brooks Koepka (10)

Best prices
5 J Thomas, 13-2 D Johnson, 10 X Schauffele, 14 J Rahm, B DeChambeau, 18 P Casey, T Woods, 20 M Wolff, W Simpson, A Scott, 25 R McIlroy, H Matsuyama, 28 P Cantlay, P Reed, 40 bar

Second-round preview

A cloudy morning with temperatures around 19 degrees is expected for the players resuming round one, but they will not be disappointed with their draw. The early starters in round one got good conditions on Thursday, but they will almost certainly have to play some round-two holes on Saturday morning when temperatures of 14 degrees are forecast.

With the sun expected to break out by late morning Friday, the late round-one starters should get sunny, calm weather for their full second round, allowing them to head into the weekend knowing they have got just 36 holes to complete.

Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson deserve top billing at this stage - both should forge forward on Friday - while Rory McIlroy needs to overcome a stuttering start and build a head of steam. The question for punters mulling over extra investments before the resumption of play is: Who will end up first-round leader?

Paul Casey has obviously set a hugely competitive target, but can Thomas or somebody else catch him? Thomas will do well to make par at the 11th - expect a safe approach to the right before it becomes a question of whether he can chip and putt for par.

From four under par with seven to play, Thomas would have little margin for error in reeling in Casey. A par at the 12th would be golden, then he could rattle home with birdies at 13, 15 and 16. With eagles at 13 and 15 entirely feasible, a 64 to pip Casey is entirely feasible, but there is not enough juice in 7-4 quotes to make a serious gamble worthwhile.

A small bet on Thomas at 7-4 is advised, with the dead-heat with Casey obviously an enormous runner. Matt Wolff at 20-1 is a bigger-price alternative.

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