Zozo Championship Preview and Picks

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To get right to it, check out the latest performance chart for the Zozo Championship. It shows the current field and their average finish over the last 5 years. A valuable tool to use for your golf analysis.

This is the fifth time the Zozo Championship has been played. Last year’s champion, Collin Morikawa, 2023 winner Keegan Bradley, and 2022 winner Hideki Matsuyama are the past winners in the field.

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This is a premier event, but unfortunately, it doesn’t align well with the current fall schedule. Fall events are typically about grinding it out, with players first securing their PGA Tour cards for 2025 and then working to improve their status by climbing up the points list. However, this event breaks that mold. Yes, it boasts the best field of any fall event, but with only 78 players—eight of whom are from the Japan Golf Tour—and 12 top-50 FedExCup point players like Collin Morikawa (#2), Sahith Theegala (#3), and Xander Schauffele (#4), many participants have no real opportunity to change their status for 2025. That leaves only 58 spots for those fighting to break into the top 125 or aiming for the top 60 to earn coveted spots in the Sentry and Genesis events.

Adding to the challenge is the travel factor. Players are coming off the Shriners in Las Vegas and have to make the long trip to Japan, losing a day in the process. This gives them very little time to familiarize themselves with the course and recover from jet lag. Unlike past years, there doesn’t seem to be a PGA Tour-chartered flight, meaning long travel for those who competed in the Shriners. Those who made the cut likely won’t arrive in Japan until Tuesday night, leaving just one day to prepare. It’s easy to see why this event feels out of place in the fall.

⏹️ Avoid These Players This Week:

We all know how tough travel can be, and the players who made the cut at the Shriners are at a significant disadvantage. The Shriners itself was challenging with wind delays, and with minimal time to prepare for Japan, these players are likely to struggle:

Doug Ghim, Kurt Kitayama, Gary Woodland, Rico Hoey, K.H. Lee, J.J. Spaun, Matt Kuchar, Harry Hall, Chad Ramey, Mark Hubbard, Jhonattan Vegas, Nate Lashley, Taylor Moore, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Fishburn, Sam Stevens, Davis Riley, Ryan Fox, Beau Hossler, Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, C.T. Pan, Nick Taylor, S.H. Kim, Luke List, Chris Gotterup, Adam Schenk, Ben Silverman, Zac Blair, and David Skinns.

I can almost guarantee the winner won’t come from this group.

🏌️‍♂️ Players Who Missed the Cut:

Fourteen players missed the cut at the Shriners and managed to get to Japan earlier, but I still don’t like their chances:

Chandler Phillips, Andrew Novak, Charley Hoffman, Ben Griffin, Adam Svensson, Seamus Power, Justin Lower, Eric Cole, Nico Echavarria, Kevin Yu, Chan Kim, Sami Valimaki, Brendon Todd, and Tom Hoge.

💒 One Last Thing…

There’s no PGA Tour event next week. The only tournament on the horizon is on the LPGA Tour. Personally, it works out well for me since my daughter is getting married on November 2nd, so I’ll be busy lending a helping hand with the wedding. We’ll be back with a preview of the Bermuda event in two weeks.

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Course Information for Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club

• Par: 70 (34–36)

• Total Yardage: 7,079 yards

• 5 par-3s, all under 191 yards

• 10 par-4s, 3 under 400 yards, 5 over 480 yards

• 3 par-5s, one over 600 yards

This event began in Japan in October 2019 and was an instant hit when Tiger Woods claimed victory. It was the last tournament Woods won. In 2020, due to COVID-19, it moved to Sherwood C.C. outside Los Angeles but returned to Japan in 2021. Hideki Matsuyama won that year, Keegan Bradley in 2022, and last year’s champion was Collin Morikawa.

Although Accordia Golf Narashino isn’t considered one of Japan’s premier courses, it can still present a challenge. Last year, 20 of the 78 players broke par, with the course averaging a score of 70.508, making it the 12th hardest course on tour in 2023. The year prior, with better weather conditions, it was the 32nd hardest course. The layout favors long hitters, but the limited course stats make it tough to draw firm conclusions.

Driving distance averaged 287.5 yards last year, one of the shortest on tour, which makes sense given the well-manicured fairways that limit roll. The course was ranked 23rd in terms of driving accuracy difficulty. Morikawa, last year’s winner, hit 53 of 72 greens, ranking T-3rd in greens in regulation (GIR), but struggled with accuracy off the tee, hitting only 19 of 52 fairways (T-67th). In contrast, five of the top 11 finishers were top 10 in fairways hit. In 2022, Bradley also excelled in GIR (56 of 72), as did Matsuyama in 2021, who led the field with 59 of 72 greens hit. Hitting greens is clearly a key stat for this course.

Final Thought:

While no other standout stats emerged from the data, hitting greens remains critical for success this week.

Who to watch for at the Zozo Championship

Best Bets:

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