This week, the PGA Tour takes a hop, skip, and jump over the Pacific Ocean for the ZOZO Championship at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan.
The ZOZO Championship marks the highest purse so far this season on the PGA Tour at $11 million. And this is the same event where Tiger Woods captured his 82nd PGA Tour victory, back in 2019.
Some players will be making their PGA Tour season debuts this week. Such as the reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama, who looks to repeat in his home country. In addition, Xander Schauffele, who won the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, is making his fourth ZOZO Championship appearance and his season debut three weeks after making the winning putt for Team USA at the Presidents Cup.
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Schauffele said on Tuesday that having a PGA Tour event in Japan is great not only for the players but also for those walking the ropes and watching from the gallery. “The fans here are incredible, not just for myself, I think all the players in this field can speak to it,” Schauffele said. “Japan loves golf. So, we feel the excitement that the fans bring and it only elevates this event.”
Ahead of this week’s event, we take a look at the 10 players who can win the 2022 ZOZO Championship.
10. Tom Hoge
Tom Hoge, 33, is making his third start this season after finishing in 12th place at the Fortnet Championship and inside the top five at last week’s Shriners Children’s Open. That momentum is key for Hoge, who is making his second appearance at the ZOZO Championship after finishing 17th last year, and had a 4-under 66 in the third round.
Hoge begins his first round on the 10th tee at 6:29 p.m. PT on Wednesday with Cameron Champ and Martin Laird.
9. Keegan Bradley
Another player in his 30s cracks this list as 36-year-old Keegan comes in at No. 9.
Bradley, who is playing in his second event of the season this week in Japan recorded a top-five finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago. The 2011 PGA Champion got going in the third round, firing an 8-under 64 to get near the lead before the final day.
One of the keys for Bradley this week will be his ball-striking abilities as he is one of the course record holders after carding a 7-under 63 in 2019 to help him finish tied for 13th. The top 5 finish two weeks ago, on top of finishing inside the top 10 last year on this course gives Bradley his motivation for the week.
Bradley tees off with C.T. Pan and Naoyuki Kataoka on the first hole at 7:02 p.m. PT on Wednesday.
8. Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland is making his 2022-23 season debut this week after winning the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Mexico for his lone victory last season. Hovland also recorded a runner-up finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a fourth-place finish at the final major of the year, The Open Championship.
In addition, the Oklahoma State alum who brought a National Championship to Stillwater, Okla., had success to close his season, finishing 15th at the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago.
Hovland made his ZOZO Championship debut in 2019 when he shot -1 and finished 41st overall. Since then, Hovland has had three years of PGA Tour experience and is looking to make the trip to Japan worth wild with a victory.
7. Mito Pereira
Mito Pereira is making his second start of the season after competing in the Shriners Children’s Open last week and the Presidents Cup for the International Team a few weeks ago.
Pereira did really well in Las Vegas last week as the 27-year-old recorded all four rounds in the 60s and a fourth-place finish. That momentum will be crucial for Pereira as the challenge for players like him, who played last week, will be adjusting to the time difference as quickly as possible. Pereira tees off on the first hole at 6:18 p.m. PT on Wednesday with Maverick McNealy and Shugo Imahira.
6. Cameron Young
Cameron Young, who is making his PGA Tour season debut this week had a successful 2021-22 season, despite not recording a victory.
Young recorded five runner-up finishes and two third-place cards, including a second-place finish at The Open Championship, back in July. The 25-year-old, who finished 19th in the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago is looking to get into the winner’s circle, not only this week, but this season.
Young begins his first round on the 10th tee with Hovland and Sepp Straka at 5:23 p.m. PT.
5. Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is making his first individual start on the PGA Tour this season after competing for Team USA at the Presidents Cup. Morikawa played three matches and went 2-1. He has played in this event in Japan twice. He finished 22nd in his first appearance in 2019 and in seventh place last year.
The 25-year-old, who has already halfway to the career Grand Slam, is one of the top Americans in the field, coming in this week at No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Morikawa tees off with Mackenzie Hughes and Sebastian Munoz on the first hole at 6:29 p.m. PT on Wednesday.
4. Tom Kim
Last week, Tom Kim made history after winning the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. That victory gave Kim his second career PGA Tour victory, joining Woods as the only two players with two PGA Tour wins before turning 21 years old.
Throughout the tournament last week, Kim ranked third in greens in regulation. That will have to continue for South Korean this week to win the ZOZO Championship.
3. Sungjae Im
Sunjae Im, who is playing in his second individual event of the season this week, finished seventh overall at the Shriners Children’s Open and was on the losing side at the Presidents Cup a few weeks ago.
This is Im’s second appearance at the ZOZO Championship and first since 2019 when he finished in third place. That year, Im started slowly with a 1-over 71 before finishing the tournament 64-67-65 to make the cut and climb the leaderboard for a strong finish. That will have to continue for Im if he, once again, wants to find himself at or near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
Im tees off on the first hole with Kim and Cam Davis of the ZOZO Championship first round at 6:40 p.m. PT.
2. Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele is another player on the field making his individual season debut after securing the winning point for Team USA at the President’s Cup three weeks ago.
Schauffele, who won the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, said playing this course is manageable despite a few challenges. “The course is very hard,” Schauffele said. “There are probably about five par-4s out here that are very difficult that we play every day. If you can go through those holes, close to even par, then you can play the rest of the course how you’re supposed to play it.”
Schauffele, who is the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings at No. 6, finished fourth at the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago after winning three times last season.
1. Hideki Matsuyama, ZOZO Championship favorite
One of the favorites this week is the player playing in his home country, Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama, 30, has played on this course before, but it is his first appearance in this tournament.
The 2021 Masters Champion started the new season at the Fortinet Championship, where he tied for 25th place. With his home country support, it will fuel Matsuyama to do the best he can and hopefully be at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
Matsuyama tees off with Schauffele and Tyrell Hatton at 5:34 p.m. PT on Wednesday