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The long week in Vegas is finally behind us as strong winds made it difficult to keep things on schedule and had players playing around the clock on the weekend to finish on time before making the trek to Tokyo, Japan for this week's Zozo Championship.
Arguably the most popular event in the Fall Series, this week's field at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club will feature eight of the top 25 players in the world and many players from the Presidents Cup teams a few weeks ago. With limited course history data, finding the right horses will be somewhat convoluted, but past finishes paired with recent performances on similar courses will be the main selling points here.
Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week check, out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: TDG for an extra discount at checkout!
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2024 Zozo Championship
For the third time in four years, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club will host the Zozo Championship; perhaps the most popular spot for the world's best during the fall swing. Many top players who take this time of the year to relax from a long season will mark this event on the calendar to knock off some rust.
This year's field is headlined by tour favorite, Xander Schauffele, and other top names like Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, and Tom Kim.
In its short history on the PGA circuit, this event has seen some historical moments, from Tiger tying Sam Snead with 82 wins in 2019 to Hideki Matsuyama winning in his home country in 2021. This venue has cemented itself in golf history and those in the States willing to stay up past their bedtime may be treated to big things again this time as well.
You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles and Player News/Matchup Outlook Posts to help you win big!
The Course: Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club
Par 70 - 7,079 Yards | Greens: Bentgrass | Designed By: Kinya Fujita
Aside from being a PGA Tour stop since 2019, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club has a rich history of being a popular tournament venue since 1968, when it hosted the Japan PGA Championship. Since then, many of the game's biggest names have claimed titles here: Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, and Tiger Woods.
Kinya Fujita's design presents a unique layout that plays much harder than its 7,079 yards may indicate at first glance. Tree-lined fairways and harsh doglegs make cutting corners a detrimental mistake without superior accuracy off the tee, and playing to the correct side of the holes makes positional strategies more important than the bomb-and-gouge approach that we see far too often on tour.
The most peculiar thing to note about this venue is that it maintains a two-green system, which has been employed during every iteration of this event. Luckily this only applies to one or two holes during the week, but it's an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
Recent ZOZO Championship Winners
- 2023: Collin Morikawa (-14)
- 2022: Keegan Bradley (-15)
- 2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-15)
- 2020: Patrick Cantlay (-23) (At Sherwood CC due to COVID-19 restrictions)
- 2019: Tiger Woods (-19)
The Horse
Collin Morikawa
- Event Scoring Avg: 68.22
- Notable Finishes: 1st ('23), T7 ('21)
Team U.S.A's success at the Presidents Cup a few weeks ago was due in large part to Collin Morikawa's play, as the former Cal Bear went 4-1-0 on the week.
He had an impressive season overall, even if void of a win. However, coming into this week as the defending champion presents an opportunity for a better-late-than-never victory.
Counting stats over his last 12 rounds at par 70 venues with bentgrass greens, Morikawa ranks 13th in the field in strokes gained putting (+0.4) and is always a favorite in ball striking statistics. If he is still in the form we saw down the stretch of the regular season and the Presidents Cup, a title defense wouldn't be a surprising outcome.
The Ponies
Hideki Matsuyama
- Event Scoring Avg: 68.04
- Notable Finishes: 1st ('21), 2nd ('19)
It wouldn't be fair to exclude Hideki Matsuyama from this list given his ties to the area and how he finished the regular season on the PGA Tour with a win at the FedEx St. Jude championship.
I know his past two finishes (T40 and T51) here aren't the nicest to look at coupled with a mediocre 2-3-0 record at the Presidents Cup. However, this is an important event for the 32-year-old, and 2024 has revitalized his career after he fell outside the top 50 in the world ranking in January for the first time since turning professional in 2013.
Matsuyama's game sets up well for this difficult track. Ranking as the top performer on the season in strokes gained around the green (+0.618) and 15th in strokes gained on approach (+0.492).
The biggest threat to his success lies with the putter, as he's averaged -1.62 strokes gained putting on bentgrass surfaces over his last 12 rounds.
Beau Hossler
- Event Scoring Avg: 67.97
- Notable Finishes: T2 ('23), T16 ('22)
Course history articles normally have more to chew on than two total appearances, however, Beau Hossler has made the most of his starts over the past two years and leads the field in total strokes gained at Narashino CC (+2.03) against players with more than one event under their belt.
Hossler has been one of the most consistent players in this season's fall swing, making each of the past three cuts going back to his second-place finish at Sanderson Farms. That should invoke a bright outlook ahead of this week's event in Tokyo.
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Sungjae Im
- Event Scoring Avg: 68.13
- Notable Finishes: T12 ('23), T3 ('19)
We haven't seen much from Sungjae Im since his seventh-place finish at the Tour Championship aside from a horrible week in Canada at the Presidents Cup. Perhaps, the 26-year-old is returning to Tokyo to hopefully rebound from his 1-4-0 record in the cup matches.
Those looking to play Im in DFS lineups will ultimately have to decide if the awful performance in Montreal will be a detriment or a motivator for this week, and guessing wrong could determine your fate. However, it is worth noting that his performance in this year's cup matches was his worst of three total team appearances.
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