What Happens Next? Ante-post betting column

Golf

It is incredibly difficult to take a strong view as to who deserves to be favourite for the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in three weeks' time.

On the one hand, you’ve got Rory McIlroy. His first PGA Tour win came at Quail Hollow, and he’s since added another, the combined margin of these victories a baffling 11 shots. He finished fourth in the Open, which he spent largely in second gear.

On the other, you’ve got Jordan Spieth. Not only was he sensational at Royal Birkdale on Sunday, not only is he one PGA Championship win away from a career grand slam, but his three major wins have come since the most recent of McIlroy’s four.

In terms of major championships, Spieth has been the best player since the start of 2015. Much depends how much you consider this to be ebb and flow, whether you believe Spieth’s one-in-six major strike-rate will continue, and whether you are convinced that McIlroy remains the best when at his best and has the perfect platform to demonstrate it coming up in August.

To be honest, I don’t know what I think any more, and I can understand that some firms go each-of-two. My slight preference would be for McIlroy, and that’s reflected in his best price of 15/2 versus Spieth’s 8/1. There is actually a case that they should both be nearer 5/1, though.

One player who is probably being overlooked yet again is Marc Leishman, with 100/1 quoted in places.

Leishman (pictured) might not have contended at Birkdale, but he tied for sixth – his fourth finish in the top six of a major championship since the start of 2013.

Given that he was a popular 50/1 chance for the Open, twice that price for the PGA seems generous, even allowing for the fact that his best major performances have indeed come in the UK.

Quail Hollow looks a good fit for the Australian, especially under a major set-up, and while winning this might be hard there’s no reason he can’t go close. (Ben Coley)

Click here to back Leishman for the PGA with Sky Bet

Racing

Slim pickings on the ante-post front following a quiet weekend’s racing as we gear up for the King George at Ascot on Saturday and then Glorious Goodwood, which starts on August 1.

Magical Memory won his second race on the bounce when he took the Group Three Hackwood Stakes at Newbury at the weekend and connections are looking to step him back up to the very top level now after a couple of confidence-boosting victories.

He’s a top price of 11/1 at Coral for the Haydock Sprint Cup following his Newbury win, but, be warned, his trainer Charlie Hills is now toying with the idea of stepping him up in trip with the Prix de la Foret on Arc weekend mooted as a possible end-of-season target.

Meanwhile, the Cheltenham Festival build-up seems to start earlier and earlier but we can’t remember too many quotes coming in for a horse in the heart of July.

However, John Constable’s victory off a mark of 150 in the Listed handicap hurdle at Market Rasen on Saturday saw some bookies see fit to quote him for the Champion Hurdle next March.

BetVictor were the ones who went biggest about Evan Williams’ six-year-old, offering 50/1. Maybe it’s time to get on?! (Ben Linfoot)

Sky Bet's ante-post racing odds in full

Cycling

As the Tour de France ends, attention in the cycling world turns to the next Grand Tour, the Vuelta a Espana, which starts next month.

The Tour-Vuelta double has been achieved only twice – by Jacques Anquetil in 1963 and Bernard Hinault in 1978. Those two are greats of the sport and, while Froome’s name now rightly sits among them following his fourth Tour de France success, it is notable that he has failed to back up any of his Tour victories by winning the Vuelta. At odds-on, he can be opposed.

A look through the market throws up a couple of potential each-way shots at decent prices.

Russian Ilnur Zakarin was fifth in the early-season Giro d’Italia, finishing less than two minutes behind winner Tom Dumoulin.

Zakarin skipped the Tour de France to plan for the Vuelta and of the riders who finished above him in the Giro, only Vincenzo Nibali will ride in Spain.

A route which includes no fewer than nine summit finishes should suit – Zakarin showed during the Giro that he has the ability to go on the offensive in the high terrain.

The other man to catch the eye at a big price is climber Rafa Majka, a former Tour de France King of the Mountains who finished third in the 2015 Vuelta.

The Pole is available at 33/1 following his Tour de France crash which resulted in his withdrawal before he’d had time to really get stuck into the climbs.

He had targeted the general classification in the Tour this year but with those plans scuppered, his focus will now be on trying to rescue something from the campaign in Spain.

Yes, backing him now includes injury risks – worst-case scenario is you won’t get a run for your money – but the France incident could turn out to be a blessing in disguise with his body now much fresher for an assault on the Vuelta.

It's definitely a price which has real potential to shorten. (Andy Schooler)

Click here for all the latest Vuelta odds

Posted at 1230 BST on 24/07/17.