Rampant Gay enjoying a jolly time at venue which suits

Third round

Sky Sports Golf, 6.30pm

Austin Cook and Brian Gay, 90-1 and 100-1 respectively at the outset, have separated themselves from the rest of the field in the RSM Classic at Sea Island, Georgia.

Cook, a US Tour rookie maiden, is 14 under par through two rounds, with four-time US Tour champion Gay a shot behind in second place. The chasing pack are a further four shots adrift.

Cook and Gay are both accurate drivers who are well suited to the Seaside Course, and the precise pair will have been subject to some ante-post support, despite being so deep in the market. Cook has assumed favouritism at 14-5, while Gay is a best-price 4-1.

Cook is a rising star of the circuit who deserves plenty of respect, but the 26-year-old graduated from the Web.com Tour without notching a victory, so he is not used to claiming trophies.

Gay, who missed 17 months due to neck surgery and a thumb problem from August, 2014, to January, 2016, finally appears to be back to full throttle, but he has not won a tournament since January, 2013.

The 4-1 about Gay is arguably the best outright option. The 45-year-old is a proven champion, who bases his game around dead-eye driving and stellar putting, the skills essential for RSM success.
Cheng-tsung Pan (28-1) and Kevin Kisner (20-1) are the two chasers who seem most likely to apply pressure to Cook and Gay.

Third-round threeball punters are pointed towards US Tour formhorse Chesson Hadley, who can leave Michael Thompson and Joel Dahmen behind in the 3.35pm (UK and Ireland time) match. Hadley has form figures from his last eight events of 10-1-2-46-3-2-4-WD. The withdrawal was down to food poisoning, from which he has recovered.

Recommendation
C Hadley
2pts Evens general