Packed leaderboard can serve up thrilling finish at Greenbrier

Sky Sports Golf 6pm Sunday

No 54-hole leader has completed the job at the Greenbrier Classic since its inception in 2010 and there should be plenty of nerves as Harold Varner and Kevin Kraft head into Sunday's final round a shot ahead of the field.

Kraft, who was fifth in the tournament last year, would have been out on his own had he not dropped two shots in his final three holes on Saturday and neither of the two leaders had produced great recent results before the West Virginia showdown.

Varner finished seventh at the Players Championship but has hardly threatened a leaderboard this year, while if you take a third in the second-rate Corales Championship with a pinch of salt, the best result Kraft has posted in his last ten tournaments was 35th at the Memorial.

So it seems fair enough to suggest the pressure is on the top two.

Last year's winner Xander Schauffele and Kevin Na are a shot in arrears and Schauffele has performed better in stronger fields lately - he was second at Sawgrass and sixth in the US Open while he missed the cut at the Fort Worth Invitational, the Memorial and the Travelers Championship.

He needs to keep hitting greens if he is to make a successful defence as his scrambling skills have not been brilliant this week.

Schauffele should be expected to put up a stronger challenge than Na, whose best performance at Greenbrier was seventh in 2012.

The man from Las Vegas claimed top tens at the Byron Nelson and Fort Worth and can definitely be a factor if his putter gets hot, but the fact that his only PGA Tour victory was the 2011 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has to be a concern.

Second-round leader and outright selection Anirban Lahiri fell away with a 71 after his sizzling Friday 61 and is three shots off the pace, but the Indian should not be discounted.

He may have got his bad nine holes out of the way as he recovered well with an inward 33, so he should not be discounted and punters who are not on already can consider a small each-way interest at 20-1 with BetBright paying four places.

However, the big danger looks to be Bubba Watson.

This is not a course where the two-time Masters champion has enjoyed an outstanding record, even though he is a member at the club.

Watson has claimed two top-20 Greenbrier finishes in four attempts, but with three victories this year his game is plainly in excellent order.

He has been solid from tee to green even if his putting hasn't been great, but he should enjoy a psychological advantage as it will be his name that every other player will be looking for on the leaderboards.

A three-shot deficit will not inhibit a man who overturned a margin of twice that size when he carded a 63 to take the Travelers Championship in his last outing and his confidence approaching the final round should be sky high.

Recommendations
B Watson
2pts 8-1 BetBright, Betfred, Betway
A Lahiri
1pt each-way 20-1 BetBright

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