The Masters: Steve Palmer's final-round tips, best odds and leaderboard

Sky Sports Golf, 1pm Sunday

Story so far
Masters punters need to get their bets on earlier than usual prior to the final round at Augusta National – the action resumes at 12.30pm UK and Ireland time due to a thunderstorm threat.

For the first time in the history of the event, split tees will be used to rush the players through round four before thunder and lightning arrives in Georgia, with half the field starting their rounds on the tenth tee.

The competitors are out in threeballs and the final group of Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau and Tiger Woods is scheduled off at 9.20am local time (2.20pm UK and Ireland). Molinari, the Open champion, leads the American duo by two shots and has become 7-4 favourite for the Green Jacket.

Molinari was 22-1 for Masters glory before a ball was struck on Thursday. Woods, bidding for his fifth Masters victory and his 15th Major title, was a stand-out 20-1 with Betfred and Hills on tournament-eve. He was 1,000-1 for a 2019 Grand Slam at the start of the year, but is in position to threaten leg one of four and is a best-price 7-2 for the Augusta triumph.

Finau, 40-1 at the outset, can be backed at 15-2, while Brooks Koepka, who started the year as world number one and has won three of the last six Majors he has entered, is three shots off the pace and a general 13-2 chance for a first Masters title.

Leaderboard
-13 Francesco Molinari
-11 Tony Finau, Tiger Woods
-10 Brooks Koepka
-9 Webb Simpson, Ian Poulter
-8 Matt Kuchar, Justin Harding, Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen
-7 Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott

Selected others
-6 Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Jason Day
-5 Bubba Watson
-4 Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood
-3 Hideki Matsuyama
-2 Bryson DeChambeau
-1 Rory McIlroy

Best odds
7-4 F Molinari, 7-2 T Woods, 13-2 B Koepka, 15-2 T Finau, 22 D Johnson, 28 I Poulter, 33 W Simpson, 40 X Schauffele, 50 M Kuchar, L Oosthuizen, 66 R Fowler, 100 A Scott, 125 J Rahm, J Thomas, J Harding, 175 bar

Final-round outright advice
The two, and only, question marks against the name of Tiger Woods coming into the Masters were his putting form and the enormous pressure that comes with the role of being the only player in the field with a realistic chance of ending his life as the undisputed greatest golfer of all time.

One of those concerns has already been eliminated – he has grown increasingly confident on the greens as the week has worn on, revelling on dancefloors where he was the dominant force for a decade and a half from 1997 onwards.

And the other pre-tournament worry has also been lifted to a great degree – Woods has looked astonishingly relaxed over the first three days, bringing all his old poise and swagger to the event, not to mention plenty of post-round smiles. He knows he owns this joint when carrying his A-game, and is clearly oozing self-belief.

Strong iron-play into the greens is the key to slaying Augusta and Woods remains arguably the most dangerous man on the planet with an iron in his hand. His driving has improved enough in recent months for him to set himself up well on most holes, before he gets to work on peppering pins.

With so few of the big guns able to stay with him this week, Woods knows he has created a golden chance to claim his first Major title since 2008. Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey missed the cut, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth are at least seven shots behind him with 18 holes to play.

Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas are all at least five adrift of Woods. Tiger appears to have already taken care of so many of his serious pre-tournament rivals. Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele – three behind Woods – have given themselves little margin for error. Francesco Molinari and Brooks Koepka are the biggest hurdles left for the king of his generation.

Molinari is being hugely respected by the market – no bigger than 7-4 to convert his two-shot lead into a first Masters title – and the gap in the betting between him and Woods appears too large. Tiger at 7-2 is much preferred. Molinari has obviously come on in leaps and bounds over the last year or so, but this is new domain. He has never been anywhere near the final group on Sunday at the Masters before, and going eyeball to eyeball with Woods and his army of supporters is a hugely daunting prospect.

Molinari backers are pointing to the Open, where the Italian played alongside Woods in the final round and beat him, but the pair were coming from off the pace that day with two groups behind them. There was not the feeling at Carnoustie that Molinari and Woods were fighting each other for the Claret Jug – they started round four three and four shots behind respectively, all the focus on a trio of leaders in the shape of Spieth, Schauffele and Kevin Kisner.

Today is completely different. Molinari is the hunted, and the most intimidating sportsman that has ever lived, backed by passionate galleries desperate to see him slip back in the Green Jacket after a 14-year break, is the hunter. Woods has got his eyes firmly fixed on Molinari and Tony Finau, who has only one low-grade US Tour title to his name, and they are his prey.

Nobody has more knowledge and nous when it comes to getting the job done down the stretch at Augusta, and Molinari and Finau may lack the capacity to match the old master. If Koepka brings a cold putter to the final round – the Floridian powerhouse has been struggling all year on the greens – then Woods can nail a fifth Masters triumph. He won the Tour Championship at East Lake in September and even greater glory may be waiting in the same state.

The wind forecast for the final round only adds to his chance. Nobody has looked more comfortable this week shaping their shots both ways and Woods will happily use the breeze to his advantage.

Woods has never lost a Masters when opening with a round of 70 and history could be about to repeat itself. Temperatures in the low-20s Celsius are set to greet him for his tee-time, so his back should get warm enough. It is not his back which looks set to decide the outcome of this great tournament – it is his brain. His beast of a brain. Weaker men thought the pressure might be too much for Tiger this week, but he seems to be relishing the enormity of the situation and ready to deliver the ultimate result.

Never doubt Tiger Woods.

Recommendation
T Woods
5pts 7-2 Betfair, Betway, Power

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