Steve Palmer's free Procore Championship predictions & golf betting tips

When to bet on the Procore Championship

By 3pm on Thursday

Where can I watch the Procore Championship?

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11pm on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Procore Championship predictions

Maverick McNealy
3pts each-way 22-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

JJ Spaun
2.5pts each-way 40-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Steve Palmer's Procore Championship preview

Six players who will be competing in the Presidents Cup in Canada later this month are using the Procore Championship as a warm-up event, but none of them make much appeal as betting options for the Silverado gathering.

Max Homa usually enjoys this course, but he has been struggling badly with his driving. Min Woo Lee has been inconsistent, too, while Canadian duo Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes will inevitably be struggling to think about anything other than the enormity of a forthcoming Presidents Cup in their homeland.

Sahith Theegala and Wyndham Clark may do best of the Presidents Cup contenders in Napa, but preference is for bigger odds about two others.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Maverick McNealy 22-1

The time may have come for former world number one amateur Maverick McNealy to make his breakthrough as a professional. McNealy had such an impressive college career, he was expected to make a Tiger Woods-like impact in the pro ranks, but the 28-year-old remains a PGA Tour maiden.

Theegala used this event to shed his maiden tag 12 months ago and his fellow Californian McNealy could easily follow suit this week. Six of the last eight winners of this tournament have been Californian, with comfort on poa annua greens massively aiding their cause.

McNealy made his pro debut at Silverado in 2017, finishing 52nd, and he made his first three cuts in this event. He was runner-up to Homa in the 2021 Fortinet Championship at Silverado, pipped by a shot, and both McNealy's runner-up efforts on the PGA Tour have come in California.

Expect another bold title tilt in the Golden State. McNealy has been threatening all year, finishing sixth in Phoenix, ninth at Sawgrass, seventh in Canada, third in the 3M Open at the end of July, then 12th in the St Jude Championship last time out.

A union with his brother Scout could be the catalyst for an overdue breakthrough. Scout, a good player in his own right until a shoulder injury scuppered his plans, started caddying for Maverick at the Wyndham Championship a month ago. The McNealy siblings could prove a devastating partnership.

Next best bet

JJ Spaun 40-1

Another Californian-born player who should be ultra-comfortable this week is JJ Spaun. Like McNealy, Spaun went to college in California before embarking on pro golf. He won on the Canadian Tour in 2015, then on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016.

Spaun's PGA Tour career has been hampered by injury and illness, but he won his maiden title in the 2022 Texas Open. This accurate operator finished ninth in the 2020 Safeway Open at Silverado and was 11th last year.

Given how well Spaun has been playing in recent weeks, it is reasonable to expect his name on the Silverado leaderboard again. He boasts PGA Tour form figures of 10-23-45-29-9-3, finishing ninth in the 3M Open and third in the Wyndham Championship in his two most recent outings.

Course guide for the Procore Championship

• Course Silverado Resort and Spa (North Course), Napa, California
• Prize money $6m ($1.080m to the winner)
• Length 7,166 yards
• Par 72 - four par-fives; ten par-fours; four par-threes
• Field 144 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Wyndham Clark (6), Sahith Theegala (12), Max Homa (24), Corey Conners (38), Min Woo Lee (40)
• Course records - 72 holes 267 Stewart Cink (2020), Sahith Theegala (2023) 18 holes 61 Chesson Hadley (2017), Ricky Barnes (2018)
• Course winners taking part Sangmoon Bae, Kevin Tway, Cameron Champ, Stewart Cink, Max Homa (twice), Sahith Theegala
• When to bet By 3pm on Thursday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11pm on Thursday
• Time difference California is eight hours behind the UK and Ireland
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview Silverado returned to the Tour schedule in 2014, hosting the Frys.com Open for two years, which became the Safeway Open from 2016-2020, then the Fortinet Championship from 2021-2023, with Procore the latest sponsors this year. Silverado is a resort course, but the fairways are reasonably tight, the rough is fairly thick, and tall trees line the cut and prepared, while the small poa annua greens are full of undulation. All the dancefloors are guarded by heavy bunkering, closely-mown run-off areas or water
• Story of last year Sahith Theegala landed a maiden PGA Tour title, matching the 72-hole course record in the process
• Weather forecast Sunny and warm, with light to moderate breezes, peaking on Sunday afternoon
• Type of player suited to the challenge This is a classic tree-lined assignment, where finding the fairways is essential, then accuracy is required to small targets on approach
• Key attribute Accuracy

Steve Palmer's Procore Championship key stat

Six of the last eight Silverado champions have been Californian

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