US PGA 2019: 72-hole match betting preview, tips & where to watch

Sky Sports Golf from 1pm Thursday

Francesco Molinari has finished in the top 25 in each of the last six Majors, winning the 2018 Open and threatening at the US PGA Championship and the Masters on his last three starts, but the Italian may not be able to top the score posted by Jason Day at Bethpage Black this week.

Molinari has improved massively over the last two years, turning what was threatening to be a moderate career into an impressive one. The Black Course, however, is not perfectly suited to his talents and Aussie ace Day is worth backing in a 72-hole match bet against the Turin man.

Day is already a US PGA Championship winner. He broke his Major maiden at Whistling Straits in 2015 and is always a threat in this tournament. Health and fitness can sometimes be an issue, but the Queenslander believes that he has arrived in New York in great shape ahead of a bid for a second Major tilt.

Day finished third at Bethpage in the 2012 Barclays, 18th in 2016, and he possesses heaps of encouraging form on AW Tillinghast-designed courses, including Ridgewood Country Club and Baltusrol Golf Club, where he finished a shot behind Jimmy Walker at the 2016 PGA.

He will love the poa annua greens in New York and, as a two-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, is a proven performer on tracks that have been redesigned by Rees Jones.

He is playing with confidence, finishing fifth at the Masters despite the threat of a back injury, and 24th at the the Wells Fargo two weeks ago was a decent pre-PGA spin.

Xander Schauffele looks a Major champion in waiting and should be backed to get the better of Tommy Fleetwood over 72 holes in a battle of Bethpage Black debutants.

Schauffele's power-packed long game is perfect for the considerable test of the Black Course and eight Major starts in his fledgling top-level career have already resulted in four top-ten finishes, including a tie for second behind Tiger Woods at the Masters.

Tommy Fleetwood also looks likely to contend for Major glory in the coming years but the Englishman is yet to better 35th in four US PGA attempts - he has played well in the US Open - and hosting last week's British Masters was a serious distraction.

Finally, Bryson DeChambeau makes his Bethpage debut and, while the New York track is notoriously difficult, he could still get the better of out-of-form compatriot Jordan Spieth this week.

DeChambeau is yet to contend in Major championships but it is only a matter of time before the Mad Scientist makes his mark at the highest level. He is already a prolific US Tour winner, with five victories at the age of 25, and gave a glimpse of his talent with an opening 66 at Augusta last month.

Spieth has lost his way since winning the Open in 2017, failing to lift a trophy for almost two years. His trademark putting prowess has returned in recent months but his long game looks to be suffering as a result and he's likely to spend too much time in the brutal Bethpage rough this week.

Recommendations
J Day to beat F Molinari
2pts 20-29 RedZone
X Schauffele to beat T Fleetwood
1pt Evs Betfair, Paddy Power
B DeChambeau to beat J Spieth
1pt 10-11 Betway

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