The ZOZO Championship takes place at the Narashino Country Club in Japan this weekend and we take a look at the betting and pick four players to take on the bookmakers.
This event is co-sanctioned between the PGA Tour and the Japan Tour and 15 of the limited field of 78 entrants are from the Japan Golf Tour.
THE COURSE
The Narashino Country Club plays to a par 70 and the set up for the ZOZO Championship is actually a mix of two courses. The fairways are narrow and tree lined so staying out of trouble off the tee will be important and finding the smaller than average putting surfaces in regulation will be important.
PAST WINNERS
2022 – Keegan Bradley -15
2021 – Hideki Matsuyama -15
2020 – Patrick Cantlay -23
2019 – Tiger Woods -19
MARKET LEADERS
Xander Schauffele tops the betting boards as the 15/2 favourite at the time of writing ahead of Collin Morikawa and Sungjae Im both 12/1 and you can get 14/1 and better the balance.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Xander Schauffele 15/2
Collin Morikawa 12/1
Sungjae Im 12/1
Rickie Fowler 14/1
Hideki Matsuyama 16/1
Cameron Davis 16/1
Sahith Theegala 18/1
Min Woo Lee 18/1
22/1 and better the balance, prices correct at the time of posting but subject to change
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SELECTIONS
Suggested Bet: Rickie Fowler each way at 14/1
Fowler was 2nd here in 2022 and that really kickstarted a recovery for him and he has had a brilliant season. He hasn’t been in action since the Ryder Cup where he was a bit under the weather, but he finished the Fedex Cup in decent form.
Fowler is accurate off the tee which will be useful with these rather narrow fairways and of those at the top of the betting boards, he is my pick this week.
Suggested Bet: Eric Cole each way at 28/1
Cole hasn’t played this course before, but he strikes me as the sort of player who could go well here. He has been in good form in recent weeks with a 3rd place finish last week and a 4th place two starts back.
Suggested Bet: Takumi Kanaya each way at 50/1
This young Japanese golfer has an excellent amateur career and he has been going well in the professional ranks. He had a 1st and a 3rd in his last 5 starts and hasn’t finished lower than 27th in his last 6 starts.
Kanaya finished well down the field in 53rd last year, but he was 7th in 2021 and with his current form looking good I am expecting him to go close this year.
Suggested Bet: Cameron Champ each way at 66/1
Champ finished 8th here last season showing that he has the game to take on this course. It wasn’t that long ago that I was tipping Champ to be a potential major winner and it has been good to see him coming back to form with a Top 10 and a Top 20 in recent weeks.
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