Irish duo could be smiling come close of play in St Albans

Sky Sports Golf, 12pm Sunday

Story so far

Day one of the GolfSixes was a triumph for ladies golf, with both the England Women and European Women teams progressing to the knockout stages at the Centurion Club, St Albans.

England Women edged Sweden on holes-won in Group D, while European Women beat defending champions Denmark in a playoff for the second qualification spot in Group A.

Elimination for Denmark, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and South Africa left the GolfSixes wide open going into the final day. The England Men side of Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace has taken over as tournament favourites, the Group D winners a best-price 9-2 to deliver a home success in Hertfordshire. They tackle France in the quarter-finals.

Thailand face South Korea, Ireland are up against England Women, while Australia will meet European Women. The action starts at 12.40pm.

Final group standings

Group A
1 Thailand
2 European Women (won playoff)
3 Denmark (lost playoff)
4 USA

Group B
1 Australia
2 South Korea
3 Spain
4 European Captains

Group C
1 Ireland
2 France
3 Italy
4 Scotland

Group D
1 England
2 England Women
3 Sweden
4 South Africa

Best prices

9-2 England, 5 Thailand, 6 Ireland, Australia, 7 France, 8 South Korea, 10 England Women, 16 European Women

Final-round advice

The GolfSixes is the most dangerous betting heat of the year for golf punters – six-hole matchplay is a volatile format – but Ireland look the bet for those compelled to take a chance on the knockout stages of the St Albans gathering.

Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan thrashed Scotland (Richie Ramsay and Scott Jamieson) in their opening group fixture, then closed with a 2-0 success over Italy (Renato Paratore and Edoardo Molinari) to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

The first six holes of the Centurion Club resemble Woburn, where Dunne has a fantastic record in the Open qualifiers, and the reigning British Masters champion can lead his team to GolfSixes glory.

The best result of Moynihan's career came in matchplay competition on the Challenge Tour – the 2017 Andalucia Costa del Sol Match Play – and 14th place in the Irish Open last year proved he is no mug.

Dunne and Moynihan can bring an end to the fairytale of England Women in the quarter-finals, and will fancy their chances against Thailand or South Korea in the semis.

It is difficult to predict who will emerge from the other half of the draw – probably the winner of the England versus France match – but the outright value lies with 6-1 Ireland.

Outright recommendation
Ireland
1pt 6-1 Sky Bet

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