The PGA Tour continues its unique fall schedule as it heads to Japan for the ZOZO Championship, which is a no-cut event with only 78 golfers. TOUR heads to Japan for this week’s ZOZO Championship.
The host course, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, features a very different layout with five par 3s, five short par 4s, five long par 4s and three par 5s. Interestingly, none of the par 4s are medium length, so we’re looking for ball-strikers who can deliver at a full range of approach skills.
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Here are all the players who have my interest—and those who certainly don’t—this week at the 2023 ZOZO Championship:
Golfers I’m Definitely Playing
Keegan Bradley ($9,200 DraftKings)
The defending champion has thrived in Japan, boasting a T-7 and T-13 in addition to his victory. Already one of the better drivers on tour, Bradley has transformed his putting and will look to harness the energy of his “Ryder Cup snub” this week. His 2.05 strokes gained per round at Narashino is the second-best mark of anyone with at 12 rounds played, per the RickRunGood.com golf database (behind only Matsuyama).
Min Woo Lee ($9,100 DraftKings)
Fresh off an Asian Tour victory, Lee will be able to use his distance as a weapon this week. He’s certainly not limited to just one skill-set as he is an accomplished short-game artist, gaining strokes to the field in eight of his past nine measured events.
Adam Svensson ($8,300 DraftKings)
Jonathan Bachman
Svensson is trending toward victory, piling up gains in the ball-striking categories. He’s earned at least 1.5 strokes ball-striking in seven consecutive starts. He’s combined that with putting gains in six of eight, which has resulted in four top-18 finishes in his past five starts.
Joel Dahmen ($7,200 DraftKings)
Dahmen impressed in Vegas last week, gaining 10 strokes ball-striking and finishing T-7. That’s two straight top-13 finishes for Dahmen, who seems to be breaking out of a slump. On paper, this isn’t the best course in the world for him, but he did finish T-16 here last year.
Matthew NeSmith ($6,800 DraftKings)
Gregory Shamus
NeSmith is returning to his roots of being an above-average approach player, which has started to turn his results around. He finished T-9 at this event last year and is seemingly playing with confidence again. He’ll need to be a neutral (or better) putter this week to make noise.
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Golfers I Might Play
Xander Schauffele ($11,100 DraftKings)
Can you forgive his lackluster effort at the Ryder Cup? If so, then it’s a green light on Schauffele who has gained strokes to the field in 20 straight events, per the RickRunGood.com golf database. He’s got the highest floor of any golfer in this field and has two top-10 finishes in three trips to Japan.
Cameron Davis ($9,500 DraftKings)
Davis is starting to play well at courses that he “shouldn’t.” I didn’t think TPC Summerlin was a good fit for Davis, who promptly finished T-7 and gained strokes across the board. He’s earned a staggering five top-10 finishes in his past six starts, and his game is maturing right before our eyes.
Beau Hossler ($8,500 DraftKings)
Jonathan Bachman
Hossler is vying for entry into the first two signature events of next season and every point matters. His fall keeps getting better—T-30, T-28 and T-7 in his three starts, buoyed by an excellent all-around game. He also finished T-16 here last year.
Tom Hoge ($7,800 DraftKings)
I’m a glutton for punishment so I’ll go back to Hoge one more time! The course sets up in extremes—many short par 4s and many long par 4s. The ranges where approach shots will typically come from are the best ranges for Hoge, who separates himself from the field in those areas. He’s taken that blueprint and finished 17th and T-9 in his only two trips to this course.
Cameron Champ ($7,100 DraftKings)
Michael Owens
Clearly Champ is building toward something right now. He had a disaster Saturday round last week where he lost over five strokes to the field. That’s the only round in his last eight that he’s been worse than field average, and he was still able to finish T-18 despite the big step backward. This course should reward his strengths if he can avoid the big number.
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Golfers I’m Fading
Rickie Fowler ($10,000 DraftKings)
I’m willing to forgive Fowler for a quiet Ryder Cup, but I’m more worried about his play at the end of last season. He lost strokes with the putter in three straight, which was previously the key to an excellent season. Now we are being asked to pay a premium price for a golfer with plenty of question marks.
Eric Cole ($8,900 DraftKings)
Michael Owens
I’m worried that this course will be too big for Cole, who struggles mightily off-the-tee. Additionally, he has lost strokes putting in three straight starts, which is starting to raise some red flags about how close he is to his true DNA. We can take a week away from Cole and catch up with him down the road.
Emiliano Grillo ($8,600 DraftKings)
Grillo finished fourth here last year, but there’s no evidence that a high finish will happen this time around. He has missed both cuts this fall and is giving strokes away in most major categories. He has been an elite approach player in his career, but recently he has lost to the field in four straight.
Callum Tarren ($7,600 DraftKings)
Jed Jacobsohn
Tarren went nuclear on Saturday in Las Vegas and was able to post a T-23 finish. I’m worried that a single round will drive up ownership and expectations in a range with only a few viable options. Tarren’s driver and short game are still concerning enough as scoring conditions will likely get more difficult this week.
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Harry Hall ($6,700 DraftKings)
It was a solid T-26 last week for Hall at his home course, something that we pretty much saw coming. However, this is a whole different beast and will demand tee-to-green gains from Hall, which have been hard to come by. He has lost to the field in eight of his last nine from tee-to-green.
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Rick Gehman, founder of RickRunGood.com and the RickRunGood YouTube Channel, is one of the industry’s leading experts on golf DFS and gambling. Gehman is co-host of the First Cut Podcast and appears regularly on the Pat Mayo Experience golf podcasts. Follow him on Twitter: @RickRunGood.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
