PGA Tour Picks: Zozo Championship

By Tom LaMarre

The Zozo Championship this week will be the inaugural PGA Tour event in Japan and the field for this first event has to be is the envy of many established tournaments on the circuit.

First of all, four players from the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings are playing at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club www.accordiagolf.com in Chiba, Japan, including 10th-ranked Tiger Woods, who still is the biggest draw in the game.

The others from the Top 10 are second-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, fourth-ranked Justin Thomas coming off his victory in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea on Sunday, and eighth-ranked Xander Schauffele.

In addition to Woods, the reigning Masters champion, also in the field are U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Shane Lowry of Ireland, who won the Open Championship.

“I have to prove myself to Tiger,” said Woodland, who is trying to land a spot on the United States team for the Presidents Cup in Australia in December, and Woods is the U.S. captain. “I won the U.S. Open, but I have to do some more to earn a spot on the team.

“I’ve enjoyed my time in Japan (in the Dunlop Championship). I love playing in front of the fans there. They love their golf. It should be a good week.”

All four major winners would be in the Zozo Championship, but the PGA champion, top-ranked Brooks Koepka, was forced to withdraw after aggravating a left knee injury during the second round of the CJ Cup.

There are plenty of other big names in the field, including major champions Adam Scott of Australia, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Jason Day of Australia, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Patrick Reed and Lucas Glover.

Day is coming off his victory on Monday (Asian time) over Woods, McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama in The Challenge: Japan Skins at Accordia to kick off Zozo Championship week.

“The Japanese fans are the most enthusiastic fans in the world,” said Scott, who has won 13 times on the PGA Tour, including the 2013 Masters. “They are going to be so excited to see the PGA Tour stars come and play. It will make a great atmosphere and buzz to play in front of.”

The crowd favorite, of course, will be Matsuyama, who has five of the 11 victories claimed by Japanese players on the PGA Tour. Perhaps best known of the other players from Japan in the field is former teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who has won 17 times on the Japan Golf Tour and currently leads the Order of Merit on the circuit.

Among the young guns who made the trip to Japan are 2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the year Sungjae Im of South Korea, Joaquin Niemann of Chile, Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland of Norway, Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, Collin Morikawa, Sung Kang of South Korea, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, C.T. Pan of Tawain and Max Homa.

“To play the Asian swing is to face the best fields, and Zozo has a crazy strong field,” said Morikawa, who won the Barracuda Championship last season in his sixth PGA Tour start. “You want to be in the fields where the best players are.”

This week, for perhaps the first time, that’s in Japan.

BEST BETS

1. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland – The FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year makes his 2019-20 debut after taking third in the Japan Skins on Monday with four skins and $60,000. After the U.S. season ended, McIlory tied for second in the European Masters and tied for ninth in the BMW PGA Championship on the Euro Tour.
2. Justin Thomas, United States – Coming off his 11th PGA Tour victory in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea, where he successfully defended his title by two strokes over Danny Lee. Thomas, who also tied for fourth in the Safeway Open this season, has two other victories in Asia, both in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, in 2016 and 2017.
3. Xander Schauffele, United States – Making his first start of the season after winning twice and finishing second twice during the 2018-19 season on the PGA Tour to wind up second in the FedEx Cup standings behind Rory McIlroy. Schauffele has claimed one of his four pro victories in Asia, winning the WGC-HSBC Champions last season in China.
4. Danny Lee, New Zealand – Pushed Justin Thomas all way to the finish before he made two late bogeys and finished two shots back in solo second in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges last week. Lee, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2015 Greenbrier Classic, has finished second four times, including in the Mayakoba Classic last season.
5. Hideki Matsuyama, Japan – Finished fourth and last in the Japan Skins with one skin and $20,000, but he halved one hole with a 35-foot birdie putt. The home favorite bears has claimed eight of his 14 professional victories on the Japan PGA Tour, and last week Matsuyama finished in a tie for third in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea.
6. Gary Woodland, United States – The reigning U.S. Open champion finished in a tie for third last week in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges after starting the new season with a tie for 55th in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Woodland claimed one of his five pro victories in Asia, teaming with Matt Kuchar to win the 2011 World Cup in China.
7. Paul Casey, England – Starting his new PGA Tour season in Japan after winning the European Open and tying for 11th in the BMW PGA Championship last month. Casey travels well, having claimed 17 victories around the world in his career, including two in Asia in 2005, the TCL Classic and the Volvo China Open, both of them in China.
8. Jason Day, Australia – Making clutch putts for par on the 17th hole and birdie on the 18th, Day won the Japan Skins with eight skins and $210,000. He is coming off a season where he did not win, but posted six finishes in the top 10 and 11 in the top 25 on the PGA Tour. He tied for 31st in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in his season debut last week.
9. Byeong Hun An, South Korea – Gave it his best in an effort to win at home in South Korea last week before finishing in a tie for sixth in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, where he led after the first round with a 64. An, the 2009 U.S. Amateur champion who played college golf at Cal, also finished solo third at Sanderson Farms early in the new season.
10. Tiger Woods, United States – In his first event since a fifth surgery on his left knee in August, Woods seemed to be in good from when he finished second in the Japan Skins with five skins and $60,000. He has claimed two of his 108 professional victories in Japan, winning the Dunlop Phoenix Championship back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.

OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH – Adam Scott, Australia; Shane Lowry, Ireland; Kevin Na, United States; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Tommy Fleetwood, England; Cameron Smith, Australia; Tyrrell Hatton, England; Jordan Spieth, United States; Joaquin Niemann, Chile.

SLEEPERS

1. Dylan Frittelli, South Africa – Has a history in Asia, winning the 2017 AfrAsia Bank Open in a playoff and losing in a playoff to Alexander Levy in the 2017 China Open.
2. Viktor Hovland, Norway – The 2018 U.S. Amateur champion had six straight top-25s and 19 consecutive rounds in the 60s before he tied for 31st in the CJ Cup last week.
3. Collin Morikawa, United States – The 2019 Barracuda Championship winner finished T-10 in the Safeway and was in the hunt at Nine Bridges before closing with 75 to T-36.
4. Sung Kang, South Korea – The 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson champion won four times in Asia before coming to the U.S. Kang closed with 68-68 to tie for 26th in CJ Cup.
5. Wyndham Clark, United States – Recorded a tie for eighth in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges by shooting 67-67 in the middle rounds, Clark also had three top-10s last season.

For first-round tee times visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html