LATE NIGHT GOLF: The PGA Tour Goes To Japan For The Zozo Championship

Atsushi Tomura. Getty Images.

International time! 

PGA Tour is going overseas for a week to play the Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. A few years ago the PGA Tour made an effort to line up an "Asia Swing" of sorts in the fall schedule with events in Malaysia, China, Japan, and Korea. It was a great idea that would help to further expand the game of golf globally and give fans in the Eastern Hemisphere an opportunity to see the world's best. Then… of course… COVID fucked everything up. With international restrictions in place, the Zozo and CJ Cup (the Korean stop on Tour) had to be played in the US in fall 2020 and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai was dropped from the schedule altogether as the Tour downsized on WGC's starting in 2021.

With the CJ Cup still not having yet returned to South Korea, that leaves the Zozo as somewhat of a weird one-off trip to Japan. The Tour is going from Vegas to Japan to South Carolina next week. You'd think that would diminish this event's 78-man field, but there's some solid talent out here for a Fall Tour event, and not just from the Asian players on Tour. 7 of the world's top 20 are here, and plenty of other notable names too.

Last year, it was Hideki Matsuyama winning a big one in his home country with a convincing 5 stroke win. He capped it off with one of his trademark fairway woods on 18 and buried the eagle putt.

It was his first win since his breakthrough Masters win earlier in the year and was a great bounceback for him after narrowly missing the podium at his home country's Olympics earlier in the summer.

Last year's leaderboard and recent winners in the short history of the Zozo Championship.

2021 Leaderboard

Recent Winners

The Course

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club will be played as a composite course between their King and Queen courses, measuring out at 7,079 yards for a par 70. That's relatively short, mostly owing to there being 5 par 3's, 4 of which are inside 185 yards. You'll see from the map above that this course looks tiiight. Map looks very busy. That can definitely be owed to the tree-lined nature of the course, but that has just as much to do with each of the holes having two greens, which is typical on courses in Japan.

Chung Sung-Jun. Getty Images.

Of course this offers some spice and variety to a golf course, but it's practical too. Japan has a moderate and variable climate, and most types of grass tend to thrive in certain conditions. The greens at Narashino are of two different grass types -  each hole has a  bermuda/zoysia green for the spring/summer/fall, and a bentgrass green for the winter. Smart! 

There will only be one hole this week where they change up what green they're playing towards. Kinda a bummer, but it's a logistical nightmare to shift TV towers, ropes, and other logistics around from day to day. Either way, an interesting and fun wrinkle about the course.

Best Hole - Par 3 5th, 205 yards (… on the scorecard)

Atsushi Tomura. Getty Images.

This here is the only hole where the boys will be playing to multiple greens this week. It's also the longest par 3 on the course by a good margin. On one day, they'll be forced to hit it a bit longer to the further green away from the water. On other days, they'll need to take on more danger with a little bit of a shorter shot over water.

The Weather

Rainy weather could throw the first round of this tournament for a loop and soften up the course for the rest of the week. Might be some showers in the area Sunday, but shouldn't have any problems getting all the golf in by Sunday with a 78-man field.

The Coverage

Simple. Late night golf. Make sure to get your bets and picks in by the first tee times at 7:50 PM ET on WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

The Media Guide

New (maybe) one-time segment here… I just had to note how fuckin sweet the cover of the Media Guide is this week. That's all. On to the next…

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods won the inaugural Zozo here back in 2019 to earn his 82nd PGA Tour win and tie Sam Snead for the most all-time. There's another day and another blog to be had about why Snead's 82 are hardly the same as Tiger's 82, but we'll leave that be for today. 

Tiger kicked things off with a hook into the drink on the very first hole and 3 straight bogeys to start that week and still found a way to win. Guy just kicked everyone's ass up and down the course for the next 69 holes. Above you can find every single one of those strokes.

It's bittersweet because it's likely it's the last time we ever see him win a PGA Tour event. Yet another blog for another day but in a career of unfathomable wins, a next victory seems the most unfathomable. Guy hardly has a right leg and seems to have only gotten worse, not better since his triumphant return to Augusta in April. Never say never, but the Zozo may have been it for him.

The Trophy

Chung Sung-Jun. Getty Images.

The circle thing is a bit weird, but it's also a fucking unit. That's a big ass ring. If you're going for contemporary décor in your house, this might be a great add. For a guy like Tiger, it's probably sitting somewhere in Kultida's garage. 4/10.

The Board

Xander Schauffele is the top ranked player in this field (#6 in OWGR) and is the betting favorite at +750 at the Barstool Sportsbook. Most notably, the X man won Olympic gold over in Japan at Kasumigaseki Country Club last year, which was designed by the same guy who designed Narashino (Kinya Fujita). 

I'm gonna roll with Si Woo Kim +2800. I know, crazy to take him at a course that isn't a Pete Dye design but hear me out. Ball-striking and par 3 scoring are going to be key this week. Si Woo's got a lot of game, but that's an area of his game that hasn't exactly been his forte over his career. He's gotten by on being a good driver and having an exceptional short game. However, he's steadily improved in recent years, gaining strokes on the field in 2 of the last 3 years. He hadn't done that in his career and he's off to a roaring start this season, ranking 5th with 1.216 SG:Approach per round. Granted, all of that was from the Shriners last week, but my point is the guy is dialed right now. Took down ball-striking gawd JT in the Presidents Cup on Sunday and has been playing great recently. I'm banking on him cashing in. He's a boom or bust type of guy, so I'm taking him to win and win only.

Other Plays

Viktor Hovland To Win +2000/Top 10 +175 - Another supreme ball-striker. Plus this is a no-cut international event and for some reason that feels like it's in the Hov's wheelhouse. Fun fact… Hovland has never won a professional event in the continental United States (2 Mayakobas, a Puerto Rico, and the Hero World Challenge)

Cameron Davis To Win +3300/Top 10 +275 - Cam has also sneaky played great both in the Presidents Cup and outside of it.

Emiliano Grillo Top 10 +450 - Veteran who consistently gains strokes on approach. Love this course for him.

Rickie Fowler Top 20 +225 - Things have to turn around for him at some point right? RIGHT? He earned a T-6 at the Fortinet and this field is nearly half that size… plus you can't miss the cut if there is no cut…

Hole in One In Tournament YES +100 - Holy hell am I slamming this one. 78 players, but there's also no cut so all 78 guys are playing 4 rounds (pending WD's). 5 par 3's is a lot of opportunities, and those par 3's are QUITE short.

Let's rock. Let's watch some night golf.