With a $8.5 million prize pot on the line, some top-quality golfers have been signing up for the ZOZO Championship, scheduled to happen at the end of October. There is every indication that this might be the best line-up yet.
Now, we wish we could go through every single golfer on the field this year, but we can’t. However, we can give you the names of a few people who we think might be in with a shout of taking the number one position.
Collin Morikawa
Well, we have to put Collin Morikawa at the top of the list. He won the ZOZO Championship last year, so he has already proven himself to be good enough. Sure, his odds are a little bit longer than before, thanks to the more competitive line-up, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he won, or at least placed incredibly high.
Xander Schauffele
With two majors to his name, Xander Schauffele could very much walk away a winner. Much like Collin, he has more than proven his worth on the links, despite being known as the ‘nearly man’ for a large part of his career. Although, if we are being completely honest, we don’t expect him to win the whole thing. A top 5 finish certainly wouldn’t be out of the realms of possibility, though.
Min Woo Lee and Will Zalatoris
Neither of them has big wins to their names, and we don’t expect them to start with the ZOZO Championship. However, many people are touting these to do big things on the golfing circuit shortly. They’re the future of the game. We would keep an eye on their performance this year because they’ll probably go on to win a few Championships throughout their career.
Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas finished in T17 in the very first ZOZO Championship in 2019, and in 2020, he finished joint 2nd. He has two majors to his name and 15 PGA Tour victories. He has always performed better in Asia than in other countries. That being said, Justin Thomas is prone to having the odd off day every so often and, if that happens, there is a good chance he can fall down the rankings quite quickly but when he is good, he is really good. Keep an eye on him. See how he performs at the start, and this should give you an idea of how the rest of the ZOZO will pan out for him.
Ricky Fowler
In 2022, Ricky Fowler seemed like a dead cert to take the ZOZO Championship going into the final round. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Still, he finished second, so we doubt he is complaining too much.
Ricky Fowler is a guy who can perform well, and 2023 was his hottest year in a while, taking his first title in four years. He also became one of the only golfers in history (just four have ever managed it) to hit a 62 in a major competition. So, he is coming in as one of the clear favourites and, if his performance in 2022 was anything to go by, he might just win the thing.
Hideki Matsuyama
Regarded as the best golfer in Japan, Hideki Matsuyama is coming in hot. Winning the ZOZO Championship in 2021, he has gone from strength to strength since. He picked up a bronze in the Olympics and has a couple of PGA Tour victories to his name.
We reckon if all goes right during the week, he has a pretty big chance of winning the thing. He certainly is coming in off a big boost from the Olympics, and the fact he is playing on home soil is going to help. Support does work in golf, and he is going to get a lot of it.
Max Homa
Max Homa is somewhat of a left-field pick because he hasn’t actually won anything yet. His best position was third, with plenty of other finishes far below this. However, we have seen a clear amount of improvement from Max over the last few years. He has been steadily climbing up the rankings as he becomes more confident in the pro circuit. While we don’t think he will be winning the ZOZO this year, there is a good chance he could end up second.
Sahith Theegala
Very few golfers have had the rapid climb to success that Sahith has had. Not too long ago, he was a nobody. Now he has ranked 11th in the world thanks to his first PGA Tour title, and a string of top-ten finishes, and has the eyes of the press on him. Again, we don’t quite think he is going to win this year, but he will be putting on a fantastic show, we can assure you.
Other Picks
With the other 70 golfers competing over 72 holes with no cut, there will be a lot of action happening over the week. A lot of golfers are in with a chance of taking a top-place finish. While we don’t think anybody outside of the list above will win, we do think the following names will put on a tremendous show, and have a small outsider chance:
- Sunjae Im: The Korean is currently ranked 20th in the world.
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout: while the South African is ranked 46th in the world, we feel the ranking is somewhat harsh. He could be a top 10 here.
- Thomas Detry: the German may be ranked 50th in the world, but he has put on some decent shows recently. No, he won’t be winning. No chance of it. However, the ZOZO Championship may give him the space to show what he is capable of.
- Max Cole: the American has been climbing up the rankings recently. Sure, he is the lowest-ranked player on this list, but we can see him as a top 30 in the next few years.
Betting on the ZOZO Championship?
While you don’t have to, many people have considered dropping a bet or two on the ZOZO Championship. There are plenty of bets to be had, from gambling on the overall winner to smaller side bets. You’ll need a good gambling site for that, though. It might be worth checking out AskGamblers for a bit more info and glean some insight as to how they pick the most reputable sports betting apps.
