ZOZO Championship Betting Tips: 4 Panel Predictions From Japan
The DP World Tour and PGA Tour are heading to Asia this week, but The Panel prefer the ZOZO Championship in Japan where three members of the world’s top 10 return to action after a two-month break.
Xander Schauffele won the USPGA Championship and The Open this year, so it is no surprise the American is 9/2 with betting sites to add to his 2024 haul.
Defending champion Collin Morikawa (7/1) and 2021 winner Hideki Matsuyama (8/1) are also in a 78-man field competing at the unusual Narashino Country Club, a short, tree-lined par-70 course with double greens which have small putting surfaces protected by numerous bunkers.
The Panel are in profit for every month since the column started in June as they pick out four ZOZO Championship betting tips for this week’s event on the PGA Tour.
ZOZO Championship Betting Tips: Morikawa At The Double
There is a case to be made for backing all three players at the top of the market on a win-only basis and punters should certainly consider taking that route, but The Panel are keen to get a couple of other selections on board without breaking into a fifth tip.
With that in mind, favourite Schauffele fails to make the cut this week for no particular reason other than that his price is a lot shorter than the other two!
Last year, Morikawa opened with a 64 and closed with a 63 to win this tournament by six strokes, 16 and 19 shots clear of Schauffele and Matsuyama respectively, so he has already proved he can go low at a course where he also finished seventh in 2021.
Only Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay were stronger than Morikawa for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green last season and he remains in the top 10 in 2024 for that metric which could prove critical to the chances of success this week.
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In his last outing, Morikawa shot the lowest total over four days at the Tour Championship and his SG: T2G numbers were the best of all, so in the view of The Panel he won that tournament even if the PGA Tour disagrees.
Winners at this course in 2019, 2022 and 2023 were inside the top three for greens in regulation (there are no stats for 2021) and that’s where Morikawa is traditionally strong even if that hasn’t quite been the case this season.
Yet to win in 2024, this is an ideal opportunity to break his duck in the absence of Scheffler and make a first ever successful title defence as he kicks off The Panel’s ZOZO Championship predictions at 7/1 with golf betting sites.
The Panel's ZOZO Championship Prediction 1: Collin Morikawa To Win - 7/1 With William Hill
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ZOZO Championship Betting Tips:
- Collin Morikawa To Win - 7/1 With William Hill
- Hideki Matsuyama To Win - 8/1 With Bet365
- Beau Hossler Top 10 - 3/1 With BetVictor
- Taylor Moore Top 20 - 15/8 With SpreadEx
ZOZO Championship Odds: Home In On Matsuyama
Hideki Matsuyama, like Morikawa, is a former winner of this tournament on this course and although his last two visits have been disappointing, the Japanese will be keen to make amends by putting on a show in front of a partisan crowd.
The 2021 US Masters winner was also last seen at the Tour Championship where he finished mid-division in the 30-man field without starting strokes, although it should be noted he withdrew from the BMW Championship in the week before with lower back pain.
Matsuyama has two PGA Tour titles to his name in 2024 and took the bronze medal at the Olympics, so his form cannot be questioned.
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Third in the SG: T2G stats, Matsuyama also tops the SG: Around the Green leaderboard, so should his irons not be working metronomically and he struggles to find those tiny putting surfaces, he at least has a back-up plan, just like Morikawa who is fourth by the same measure.
Matsuyama, like the defending champion, also shot low on Thursday and Sunday when he won here by five shots in 2021, and another big performance is expected from him this week.
The Panel's ZOZO Championship Prediction 2: Hideki Matsuyama To Win - 8/1 With Bet365
ZOZO Championship Preview: Beau Selecta A Top-10 Hit
Beau Hossler may have finished a distant second to Morikawa last October, but his game is flourishing and unlike the three favourites does not have to wipe away any cobwebs.
The 29-year-old American was denied a first PGA Tour title at this month’s Sanderson Farms Championship where he lost a play-off to Kevin Yu.
However, that was still his best performance on the Tour and he put that disappointment behind him by finishing 11th at the Black Desert Championship followed by a top 25 at TPC Summerlin last week.
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That said, the field has been improved immeasurably by some major names in the game of golf and he may find two or three too good this week even if they are on the rusty side.
With that in mind, The Panel make Hossler to finish in the top at 3/1 with betting apps the next of their ZOZO Championship tips.
The Panel's ZOZO Championship Prediction 3: Beau Hossler Top 10 - 3/1 With BetVictor
ZOZO Championship Prediction: Moore The Merrier
Taylor Moore played well at this tournament in his two previous visits and although a win may be beyond him, the American looks a decent shout at 15/8 with SpreadEx in the top-20 market.
Twelfth on his debut in 2022, Moore just missed out on the top 20 by one stroke a year later, so this seems to be a course he likes.
Moore has made the weekend in five successive outings and while that is not an issue at this no-cut tournament, it at least shows he is playing reasonably consistently.
This field is clearly much tougher, but Moore has had six top 20s this season which included 12th at the USPGA Championship, his best performance in a major.
If he can sharpen up his iron play, Moore looks capable of competing at the top of the leaderboard.
The Panel's ZOZO Championship Prediction 4: Taylor Moore Top 20 - 15/8 With SpreadEx
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