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The Texas winds posed no issues to their native son as Ryan Palmer conquered the blustery afternoon hours to the tune of 6-under 66. The lone man to reach double-digits under-par at 10-under, the Texan possesses a two-stroke lead heading into the second half of the Valero Texas Open.
Effectively following up his opening round of 4-under 68, Palmer was flawless on Friday carding six birdies against zero bogeys. Looking to become the fourth Texan to win his home state’s Open in the last seven years, Palmer talked through what has been working in his game the first two days as he arrived having missed 3-of-4 cuts.
The 45-year-old said, “I’m excited the way I’m driving the ball again. I spent the last month and a half really struggling and my results have kind of shown. I’m able to take the left side of the golf course out of play now and I brought it here this week and it’s showing. My driver’s back to where it was a year ago, my game’s where it was, I feel like a year ago, my mind and it’s showing.”
Narrowly inside the top-25 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee through the first two rounds, it has actually been Palmer’s putter which has carried the load. Gaining nearly five-strokes with the putter up to this point, if able to continue to roll the rock similarly over the weekend, Palmer very well could be on his way to his first individual title since the 2010 Sony Open.
There may no better place than San Antonio for this occasion as Palmer discussed the importance of this event, saying, “I was born and raised in Texas and I lived here for about three years. Love the city of San Antonio. The guys who run this golf tournament, TPC San Antonio with JW here is unbelievable. They do such a great job hosting it. And just being from Texas, went to Texas A&M down the street, it’s always great to be home in Texas, for sure.”
Now listed as the favorite at +400 on PointsBet Sportsbook, Palmer will attempt to fend off a number of seasoned veterans such as the 2017 champion, Kevin Chappell, who signed for the round of the day at 7-under 65.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+400: Ryan Palmer
+750: Gary Woodland
+900: Dylan Frittelli, Matt Kuchar
+1200: Kevin Chappell
+1800: Charles Howell III
+2000: Lucas Glover
+2200: Brendon Todd
+2500: J.J. Spaun
+2800: Robert MacIntyre
+3300: Jhonattan Vegas
+4500: Rasmus Hojgaard
+5000: Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners
+6600: Beau Hossler, Davis Riley, Peter Uihlein
+8000: Brandt Snedeker, Doc Redman, Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Tony Finau, Troy Merritt
+10000: David Skinns, Henrik Norlander, J.T. Poston, Mito Pereira, Scott Stallings, Scott Gutschewski
Round 3 Plays:
Maverick McNealy +28000 at FanDuel (0.12 units):
The pre-tournament selections took a beating as Martin Laird was the lone man to make his way through to the weekend, so instead of pouting, we will reload heading into Round 3. Content with Norlander’s position, a player farther down the odds board and leaderboard who caught the eye is McNealy.
Ninth in SG: Tee-to-Green by way of an impressive ball-striking exhibition, the former collegiate standout ranks first in SG: Off-the-Tee and eighth in SG: Approach. Falling woefully short on and around-the-green, this small investment is worth the risk knowing how hot McNealy can get with the putter in hand.
Only six-strokes behind Palmer’s closest pursuers, there is plenty of golf yet to be played. With winds freshening on Sunday, if the 26-year-old is able to get within arm’s reach ahead of the final round, I believe he is capable of capturing his first career victory on the PGA Tour and an invitation to The Masters in the process.
Outrights YTD: +68.86 units, +213.53%
Total YTD: +46.87 units, +52.65%
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