Brooks Koepka led the Masters going into the ultimate spherical final month and the previous world primary has acquired his nostril in entrance once more going into US PGA Championship Sunday. Steve Palmer US PGA Championship final round tips and best bets.
Koepka, a four-time Main champion searching for a 3rd US PGA title, has carded back-to-back rounds of 66 to take management at Oak Hill Nation Membership. The pre-tournament 20-1 probability is not any greater than 5-4 with 18 holes to play.
Koepka completed tied second within the Masters, closing with a 75, overtaken by Jon Rahm. The Floridian doesn’t have Rahm to fret about this time, although, because the Spaniard is six over par, ten pictures off the tempo.
Two gamers hoping to win their first Main – Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners – are tied for second place. The Norwegian and the Canadian are solely a shot behind Koepka, with an additional two-shot hole to fourth-placed Bryson DeChambeau.
Scottie Scheffler, who was jostling with Rahm for pre-tournament favouritism, is tied for fifth. The ultimate twoball of Koepka and Hovland is scheduled on the tee at 7.30pm UK and Eire time. A sunny, nice day with mild breezes is forecast, with temperatures peaking at 21C.
US PGA Championship final-round preview
The US PGA Championship odds going into the ultimate spherical are fascinating, with seven gamers 28-1 or shorter and the following within the betting accessible at 300-1. Bookmakers expect three Main champions to make their presence felt from simply off the tempo – Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.
The perfect worth within the outright market at this stage is arguably one of many 300-1 rags who’ve been completely dismissed by the layers. Justin Suh is price an each-way funding with three locations nonetheless accessible, however punters searching for the match winner ought to be in all probability be centered on Brooks Koepka.
Suh is a rising star of the PGA Tour who stumbled to a share of eighth place with a Saturday 73 – a similar rating as Scheffler. Suh, a 25-year-old missing Main expertise, will likely really feel extra snug from simply off the primary web page of the leaderboard and may be fancied to get again among the many birdies on Sunday.
If Suh, a former world primary beginner, finishes the US PGA strongly, there seems each probability he may nail a top-three end, which might be sufficient for a juicy each-way return, because the probabilities of each Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners kicking to the road appears slim.
Hovland was within the remaining twoball alongside McIlroy within the Open Championship at St Andrews final yr and the Norwegian carded a 74 to drop right into a tie for fourth. His Sunday rating was ten pictures worse than a triumphant Cameron Smith. Given Hovland has carded some stunning weekend rounds these days – a Sunday 74 within the Masters, a Saturday 78 within the Heritage, a Sunday 77 within the Wells Fargo – it’s fully possible that he drops from the locations at Oak Hill.
Hovland could wrestle to deal with a remaining twoball alongside Koepka, whereas the temperament of Corey Conners has at all times been questionable. He has received twice on the PGA Tour – twice within the Texan Open – however is usually brittle in competition. Like Hovland, Conners undoubtedly has scope for a big Sunday quantity.
If Hovland and Conners wrestle, the probabilities of Suh getting within the top-three improve, and the probabilities of Koepka changing into a five-time Main champion additionally rise. Koepka will realise this mission seems far simpler to efficiently full than defeating Rahm at Augusta. Koepka is tried and examined on US PGA set-ups and he’s bursting with kind and confidence.
Koepka appears price backing at a shade of odds-on for his twoball towards Hovland, whereas the 10-1 about Suh ending within the prime 5 seems extraordinarily beneficiant. He tied sixth within the Gamers Championship at Sawgrass in March and could also be growing right into a celebrity.