Fittingly after an Asian player won last week, the PGA Tour is back in Japan this week for the ZOZO Championship, an invitational event in which there is no cut so everyone in the field is guaranteed four rounds out in Chiba.
Hideki Matsuyama capped off what was a brilliant 2021 for him personally when he took this title down in front of his home fans a year ago and he will be looking to keep hold of the crown and thrill the Japanese fans once again.
Recent Winners
2021 – Hideki Matsuyama
2020 – Patrick Cantlay
2019 – Tiger Woods
The Course
This will be the third time the Accordia Golf Narashimo Country Club course is used for this tournament. The 2020 event was staged in America due to the pandemic. It is a par 70 which has been extended to 7,079 yards so it isn’t long by any standards. It is quite a weird place in that there are three par fives and five par threes around this place so you’ve got to think that will favour those who are in excellent touch with their irons. We have had two years here now though so the putter is going to have to cooperate for those who wish to contend.
There is a chance that length might be an advantage because there is forecast to be rain throughout the opening round on Thursday so the course might well play soft all week. Primarily we are looking at a low scoring event, particularly with players having had a couple of spins here so have had the chance to work out better course management, so we need players who will find the short grass to set up good birdie opportunities.
The Field
Just 78 players are in the field this week. 60 spots are reserved for the players who finished in the top 60 in the FedExCup standings from last season who are still eligible. The rest of the field is made up by sponsor invitations and top ups from the Japan Tour, with whom this event is co-sanctioned this week. Home star Hideki Matsuyama is here and the defending champion will be the headliner but there are plenty of other leading lights opposing him.
They include the winner of the Shriners Open last week in Tom Kim. Asian stars Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim and K-H Lee are also in the field. The Olympic champion Xander Schauffele tees it up this week as does former major winner Collin Morikawa. Cameron Young will be looking for a first PGA Tour title here while the European charge is headed by Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood. Mito Pereira, Corey Conners and Keegan Bradley are others with a tee time here.
Market Leaders
Xander Schauffele is an 8/1 favourite to win the tournament this week. This will be his first strokeplay event of the season but he did tee it up in the Presidents Cup a few weeks ago. Schauffele is back in the country where he won the Olympic gold which is sure to revive good memories for him but his two spins around this track have only yielded T10 and T28 finishes. There is no doubting he is an international class act but I’d have liked a more recent 72-hole spin for him to back him at this price.
Sungjae Im is the leading Asian player in the betting market this week. Im didn’t play in this event last year but he was third here in 2019 despite starting with a 71. He warmed up for the week with a solid effort in the Shriners last week so will be well-fancied at 11/1 here. There was nothing to suggest that he can’t deliver a strong spin in Vegas last week as he was very solid throughout his bag, which was a good effort for a first strokeplay outing of the season.
The defending champion Hideki Matsuyama is 12/1 to retain the title. He hasn’t played strokeplay golf since the Fortinet Championship last month but you sense he has been saving himself for this title defence on home soil. He didn’t look in great shape at the Presidents Cup but his record around this track is matched by no other. He chased Tiger Woods down in 2019 and was five clear of the rest here last year. He is probably the one to beat but there are reasons to oppose him.
Collin Morikawa and Tom Kim are next in the betting at 14/1. I think Tom Kim is going to be a golfing superstar but it is asking a lot for him to build on the emotions of winning on one side of the world last week and then doing it on the other side of it this week. Morikawa is out in strokeplay for the first time this season. He didn’t look brilliant at the Presidents Cup but we know his iron play is spot on. He has gone 22-7 on this course so seems to be getting the hang of it.
Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets this week with the first of them being Keegan Bradley, a player who has had two decent spins around here. He has finished 13-7 in the two years here without really getting going until the weekend in the latter. We know that Bradley is a quality ball striker but recently his putting has caught the eye, not least at the Sanderson Farms Championship where on tough greens he ranked third for strokes gained putting and finished fifth. The soft nature of this course will make the fairways a little wider than usual and then he can get to work. He didn’t play last week so he should be nice and fresh for a tilt at this title.
I was on Tom Hoge last week when he placed for me after a decent weekend and you’ve got to think if he hadn’t had a slow second round having held the 18 hole lead he would probably have gone on to win the tournament. Hoge finished T4 in par 3 scoring on the PGA Tour last season and when you consider over a quarter of this event will be played on those that has to be a huge thing. Hoge ranked fourth in strokes gained from tee to green last week and second on approach so he is going to set up a lot of chances so if his putter can come to the party, and weekend rounds of 65 and 64 in Vegas last week suggests it is coming, then Hoge, who has had a spin around here so should be able to build on that, shouldn’t be far away.
Outsiders
Mackenzie Hughes won the Sanderson Farms Championship a couple of weeks ago and although he isn’t the most prolific winner, what he is good at is putting. He is usually an excellent putter so with the long game in good shape, as it has to be to win a tournament of that kind, then he has to be a leading outsider this week. He was fourth here on debut last year when he carded four under par rounds and having had a spin around here you would imagine he’ll improve for the experience. He is a player who can probably only contend on certain tracks with him not being standout for distance off the tee. This is one of those places so I’ll pay to see if he can get back in the mix here.
Mark Hubbard is on debut here which isn’t completely ideal but the way he is hitting the ball makes me think that he is a decent price and could be worth supporting. Hubbard hits the ball very well from tee to green and regularly gains in the two long game statistics but in recent times he has been putting nicely too. He was fourth for putting average in the Sanderson Farms and ranked 14 for strokes gained with the putter in the Fortinet at the beginning of the season. Hubbard made the first FedExCup play-off event last season courtesy of a couple of top 10s and he has started this season 21-5-28 so he’s in decent touch and might be overpriced here.
Tips
Back K.Bradley to win ZOZO Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-6)
Back T.Hoge to win ZOZO Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Hubbard to win ZOZO Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back M.Hughes to win ZOZO Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
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