After a record breaking day at the USPGA Championship on Friday we have reached the halfway mark of the second major of the year and are set up for a big third round of the tournament at Bethpage Black on Saturday.
Brooks Koepka has already turned this tournament into a procession and he will be looking to maintain his dominance on Saturday. Those who made the cut will be looking to position themselves for a big finish at this stage.
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Round 2 Recap
The question heading into Friday was whether Koepka would be able to play well for a second day in a row and he answered that emphatically. He shot 65 to post the lowest 36-hole major championship score in history at 12 under par. He leads by no fewer than seven shots from Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott who are so far back on five under that questions have to be asked whether they are even playing the same golf course. Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger and Matt Wallace are in a group on four under while Justin Rose sits on three under. We had some big name casualties on Friday with Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau all missing the cut.
We had a winner and a loser from our three ball bets while Dustin Johnson was a shot out of getting us a place in the second round leader market so it was largely a frustrating day betting wise on Friday. Luke List got the majority of our outlay back for the day so there was no huge damage done but we were hoping for better. Hopefully that comes along on Saturday.
Saturday Betting
There is a third round leader market on the go but it is an impossible one to bet on because Brooks Koepka is going to have to fall apart not to take the 54 hole lead into Sunday with him. That would actually be hard to watch if it did happen but even then the leaderboard is pretty tightly bunched in behind him so it would be hard to pick out who would be the one to lead from a group of so many. Unless there is a w/o Koepka market priced up nearer to the leaders teeing off and someone standing out at a wrong price it will just be the two balls for me from a betting point of view on Saturday.
Saturday 2 Balls
The remaining players in the field are out in two balls on Saturday with the last group of Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth teeing off at 19.50 BST. Daniel Berger and Adam Scott go out 10 minutes prior to that. There are plenty of good groups for the galleries to enjoy earlier in the day and I dare say we’ll get to see them too on the featured group coverage and the extended TV coverage of this third round. Tyrrell Hatton and Francesco Molinari go out together at 17.00 with Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson out 20 minutes after that. Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama will be a popular group at 18.20 as will Tommy Fleetwood against Louis Oosthuizen at 18.40. I’m going with two bets on Saturday.
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Scott Piercy vs Mike Lorenzo-Vera
Match tees off at 18.00 BST
One of the later groups out onto the golf course on Saturday evening is the one between Scott Piercy and Mike Lorenzo-Vera with both men beginning ‘Moving Day’ one under par and needing a good round to stay in and around the top 10.
I mentioned earlier in the week that Piercy said he was playing some of the best golf of his career at the minute. We didn’t really get to see that on Thursday but we did on Friday where he went round in 67 blows which included a double bogey. To be fair to Lorenzo-Vera he hasn’t been out of his depth in this tournament but I do think as the going gets tough he might be found wanting at this stage in his career. I like the Frenchman a lot but this deep into a major is alien territory for him. This is only the third time he has made the cut in a major and he hasn’t threatened the top 60 in one yet. Logic suggests he’ll fall away and with Piercy’s tee to green stats so much better on Friday I’m with the American here.
Matt Wallace vs Luke List
Match tees off at 19.20 BST
Two men who have carded four under 136 scores so far this week are out in the fourth to last group onto the golf course when the British Masters runner up Matt Wallace pairs up with Luke List with both men looking to go low in pursuit of Brooks Koepka.
Wallace has been one of the best putters in the field this week but I do have my concerns for him here. He finished with two bogeys in his last three holes on Friday having got it going prior to then and we know he can be a hot head and get down on himself which isn’t ideal. Luke List is the third longest in the field this week and carded a 68 on Friday despite barely finding a fairway. That shows the advantage his length gives him and if he can tighten up the driving accuracy to get it where it was on Thursday when he hit more than half of the cut strips he has another low score in him. List has been good to me in the match betting this week and I’ll play him to make the most of the 30 yard start he has on Wallace on average off the tee.
Tips
WON – Back S.Piercy to beat M.Lorenzo-Vera for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
WON – Back L.List to beat M.Wallace for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with Betfair
Back him here:
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