The PGA Tour continues this week as we head to Japan for the one and only stop on this years Asian swing, the ZOZO Championship. As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the event below.
Remember to check out our Golf Betting Tips page for regular updates throughout the PGA Tour season in the lead up to the majors in 2023!
PGA Tour ZOZO Championship Betting Tips
Narashino Country Club, Japan, Thursday 13th - Sunday 16th October
It was a really solid outing for BYB golf followers at the Shriners Children's Open on the weekend as we hit on some big winners, just barely missing out on the winning tip as PAtrick Cantlay squandered a lead late in the piece. We still finished up a whopping 9.5 units on the weekend, hitting on all four of our place bets in Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Taylor Montgomery and Martin Laird!
The Field
A boosted prize pool and a limited field means that the ZOZO Championship has attracted the best of the best available to the PGA Tour this weekend. A nice change of pace after a slower couple of weeks in terms of star power following the Presidents Cup. The World No.6 Xander Schauffele headlines a star studded field which also includes the likes of Sungjae Im, Colin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Viktor Hovland, Si Woo Kim, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and hometown hero Hideki Matsuyama.
Three editions of the ZOZO Championship have been played since it’s inception back in 2019 and Matsuyama will be the only past winner in attendance this weekend, with the other two in Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay both opting not to make the trip to Asia.
The Course
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club
Par 70, 7,079 yards
As you’d expect from a top end Japanese Golf course, the layout at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is absolutely immaculate. At just over 7,070 yards, it is one of the shorter on the PGA Tour schedule, but 40 yards have been added to the course for the 2022 edition of the tournament.
While it does lack some length, the course has other defences, most notably the tight ,tree lined fairways that can be extremely punishing to miss. Club selection off the tee will be super important this week, and we’ll no doubt see driver used at a much lower percentage than the PGA Tour average throughout the four rounds.
Greens are also smaller than Tour average here, so while length doesn’t really come into play for the pros, greens in regulation can still be difficult to find at Narashino Country Club.
Betting Tips
Hideki Matsuyama ($15 at Ladbrokes)
Two big dogs, two dark horses. The strategy has been working for us over the last few weeks so we’ll stick to it at the ZOZO. There’s no bigger dog in Japan than Hideki Matsuyama and the reigning champ will have all eyes on him when he tees it up on Thursday. Two trips to Narashino have resulted in a 2nd and a 1st, should feature on Sunday.
Xander Schauffele ($9.00 at Ladbrokes)
The other big dog we like here is Xander. He’s arguably the in-form golfer in the world at the moment since Cam Smith faded into the oblivion that is LIV Golf. His last six tournaments have resulted in 1st, 1st, 15th, 57th, 3rd and 4th. Will be looking to get some early FedEx Cup points on the board and feast on this $11mil prize pool here.
Sam Ryder ($101 at Ladbrokes)
First dark horse is extremely dark here as Ryder comes in at $101. Made the trip to Japan last year where he finished 7th and has only missed one of his last six cuts in PGA Tour events. Great value for a top 30 finish here.
Tomoharu Otsuki ($201 at Ladbrokes)
Another home town hero here to round out our picks is Asian Tour gun Tomoharu Otsuki. He is ranked 136th in the world but has been taking the absolute p**s in the Asian Tour of late. In his last 14 tour events, he has one win and a further seven top 10 finishes. Will have the home crowd behind him here and likely has more experience at Narashino than any player in the field. Back him for a top 30 finish.
Xander Schauffele Top 8 ($2.10 at bet365) 5 Units
Hideki Matsuyama to Win ($15 at Ladbrokes) 1 Unit
Hideki Matsuyama Top 10 ($2.25 at bet365) 5 Units
Sam Ryder Top 30 ($2.62 at bet365) 2 Units
Tomoharu Otsuki Top 30 ($2.45 at bet365) 2 Units
Xander Schauffele to Win
$9.00 (1 Unit)
