Golf
The ZOZO Championship preview: Matsuyama to defend his crown?
The PGA Tour returns to Japan for the Zozo Championship with an even more exciting field of players.
There’s also big money on the line this year, with players competing for an over $11 million prize pool, a significant increase from last year’s $9.95 million. Reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama will be keen to take home a chunk, but the competition is stiff.
Matsuyama hunting for mammoth performance
Matsuyama won last year’s competition by a substantial margin of five strokes, after a blinder opening round saw him score 64 and a closing eagle in the last. To further sweeten the victory, Matsuyama was well clear of the rest of the field, with the two players tied second place being the only ones to come within eight of him.
The reigning champ is 11/1 for glory this time around will be looking to repeat last year’s masterclass. As well as victory last year, during the debut year of the Championship in 2019 Matsuyama finished T2, only being bettered by the one and only Tiger Woods.
At the start of this year, he also won the Sony Open in Hawaii, and while he hasn’t won since, he’s played some nice stuff by-and-large. Having skipped the Shriners, Matsuyama will also be fresher than his competitors flying in to join him and he could easily win this again.
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Schauffele favourite to seize the Championship
Xander Schauffele heads into this week’s tournament as the 8/1 favourite, which is no surprise given his outstanding performance so far this year, having racked up three wins thus far at the Scottish Open, Travelers Championship and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Schauffele hasn’t quite had the same record as Matsuyama in previous ZOZO Championships, with his best form having been when he placed T10 in 2019. The following two years he didn’t fair too well at the course, clocking T17 in 2020 and T28 in last year’s event.
Despite being American, he does have some Japanese roots, and will no doubt have a wealth of support alongside the other 15 Japanese professionals taking part in the competition.
The best of the rest
Another low priced competitor is Sungjae Im who is level with Matsuyama in the betting at 11/1. Despite having gone over a year since his last victory, his record in Japan is undeniable, having finished T3 in 2019 during the tournament’s debut year. He has also been in top form since July, most recently picking up T2 and T7 finishes in his last two events.
It would also be rude to discount Joo-hyung ‘Tom’ Kim (12/1), who has more than proven his ability to trade shots with the best in the world at the young age of 20. The South Korean now ranks 15th in the world after last week’s win – his second in less than two months – and comes into this full of confidence. He didn’t make a single bogey on route to victory last week and providing that and the travel haven’t take it out of him, he’s another serious contender.
