Find out why Damien Kayat reckons Rickie Fowler could be the one to beat at the 2021 Zozo Championship taking place in Chiba, Japan.
2021 US PGA Tour
Zozo Championship
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Inzai, Chiba, Japan
21st-24th October
Rory McIlroy emerged from the golfing doldrums last week, going crazy low to edge out wunderkind Collin Morikawa in an exciting climax to the CJ Cup. It was McIlroy’s 20th PGA Tour title and seemed to justify all the hard work he has been putting in on his swing. It also showed that his Ryder Cup singles victory over Xander Schauffele was not an isolated pocket of brilliance. The tour now moves to Japan for its 2nd consecutive limited field event. This will be the 3rd staging of the Zozo Championship. This event was conceived as a co-sanctioned affair between the PGA Tour and the Japan Tour, clearly attempting to cash in on the meteoric growth of the game in Japan. This growth has only been exacerbated by Hideki Matsuyama’s inspirational victory at Augusta this year. However, this will only be the 2nd time this event has been staged in Japan. Last year’s event was staged in California due to the pandemic.
The tour moves back to Narashino Country Club, where Tiger Woods equalled Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour victories in 2019. The Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club was designed by Shinya Fujita and opened in 1965. This is actually a 36-hole facility and the Zozo Championship is played on a composite course. This is a very idiosyncratic layout. It’s a par 70 that measures just a smidge over 7,000 yards. But it features five par 3’s and three par 5’s. I don’t know if there is another course that features that exact breakdown. The narrow, tree-lined fairways feature plenty of doglegs. This puts a real premium on the ability to shape the ball both ways. Little wonder that Tiger Woods thrived in this environment. The bentgrass greens are smaller than average and will require precise play. On the surface, this certainly looks like a course that will reward precision over power.
This week’s field doesn’t compare to the quality of last week. A trip to Japan at this stage of the year is not exactly an appealing prospect for all of the professionals. Hideki Matsuyama will obviously be the star attraction this week. He enjoys almost Beatles-level celebrity status in his home country. Only Tiger Woods could have surpassed his level of appeal this week. Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa look like compelling favourites near the top of the leaderboard. They are perennial contenders who always seem to impress. The likes of Fleetwood and Niemann should also thrive on this layout. It was disappointing to see Ricky Fowler battle to get going in last week’s final round. The much-maligned American looked set for a morale-boosting victory last week before the likes of McIlroy and Morikawa surged past him.
Past Winners
2020: Patrick Cantlay (-23) *Sherwood CC
2019: Tiger Woods (19)
To Win Outright:
Xander Schauffele 6/1 | Collin Morikawa 7/1 | Hideki Matsuyama 14/1 | Will Zalatoris 18/1 | Tommy Fleetwood 22/1
Value Bets
Jhonattan Vegas- To Win 33/1 | To Place 7/1
Vegas actually enjoyed a stellar end to the 2020/2021 season (though no one seemed to notice). He finished inside the top 20 in four of his last six events. That included a T2 at the 2M Open. He then showed decent form at the Summit Club last week, ultimately settling for a T14 finish. Vegas is a premium ball striker who should thrive on this course. This isn’t a stacked field and he could be a threat this week.
Maverick McNealy- To Win 33/1 | To Place 7/1
McNealy may feel liberated this week after the ridiculous burden of expectation he had at the Summit Club. It became public knowedge that he was a member of the Summit Club and other PGA Tour members started to big him up as a real favourite. He had to settle for a T38. But he is a man in real form who represents great value at 33/1. He was runner-up at the Fortinet Championship just three starts ago. Silverado was a similar test to Narashino. Both are fairly short, tree-lined courses. He could be dangerous in this fairly weakened field.
The Man to Beat- Rickie Fowler- To Win 5/1 | To Place 11/2
As I noted earlier, Fowler has become a figure of sympathy over the course of the last 18 months. In some circles, he became a figure of scorn. People questioned why he has such an elevated status in the game. He picked the brain of former swing coach Butch Harmon and it seems to be paying dividends. I was personally delighted to see him in contention last week. During the 3rd round, he hit all 18 greens in regulation. That should come in handy at Narashino. He was also T2 last week for driving accuracy. That level of ball striking could make him a contender this week and prolong this mini career resurgence.
