Steve Palmer's threeball golf betting tips for the second round of the Open

Golf tips, best threeball bets and player analysis for round two of the Open Championship at Royal St George's, Sandwich, Kent.

Best bets

Chan Kim to win 11.47am threeball
2pts 13-8 bet365, Hills

Danny Willett to win 12.20pm threeball
3pts 20-21 bet365

Christiaan Bezuidenhout to win 12.31pm threeball
2pts 23-20 bet365

Viktor Hovland to win 12.42pm threeball
2pts Evs bet365

Second-round preview

Darren Clarke is the only winner of an Open Championship at Royal St George's who is in this week's field, but Danny Willett has triumphed at the Kent venue in a prestigious amateur event and the Sheffield lad looked right at home in round one.

Willett opened with a three-under-par 67 and can be fancied to win his second-round threeball, having outscored his playing partners by three and seven shots respectively. Dean Burmester and Laird Shepherd were left trailing in Willett's wake as the 2016 Masters champion excelled at the track where he became 2007 English Amateur champion.

Willett led the 2015 Open at St Andrews for a long way before finishing sixth, and he ended up in the same position in the last Open, at Royal Portrush. His links record as an amateur was strong and he quickly looked equally comfortable in pro events on the coast, finishing runner-up in the 2010 Dunhill Links Championship.

Willett is at ease on the big stage, having won at Augusta five years ago and appeared in the Ryder Cup a few months later. After six Thursday birdies, the 33-year-old could boss the 12.20pm Friday group.

Hoatong Li has been badly struggling this year, failing to make a cut and dropping to 379th in the world rankings, and the Chinaman carded a five-over-par Open first round.

Li is surely heading for another weekend off and his 11.47am Friday threeball seems a straight match between Justin Harding and Chan Kim.

Harding won the contest by three shots on Thursday and is the name who European Tour fans will recognize, but the value at the odds is arguably Kim, who has been in fantastic form on the Japan Tour and tied for 23rd place in the US PGA Championship.

Birdies at the 17th and 18th holes in round one meant Christiaan Bezuidenhout headed to the clubhouse in high spirits after a first-round 68 laid a strong foundation for the week ahead. And the South African can be expected to build on that effort on Friday.

Three back-nine bogeys ruined a previously promising start from Sam Horsfield, while Min Woo Lee badly failed to rediscover the magic which won him the Scottish Open last Sunday, slumping to a 74. Bezuidenhout is a bet (12.31pm) for the second day running.

Complete a four-pronged Friday threeball attack with Viktor Hovland (12.42pm). The Norwegian has been doing some gentle practice in his homeland since winning the BMW International, but he did not look rusty in round one, carding a 68 despite spurning some great chances. Hovland beat both Ryan Palmer and Thomas Detry by four shots.

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