The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club for the 2024 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. First opened in 1965, the Kinya Fujita design will play as a Par 70, 7,079 yard layout this week.
This course is definitely geared towards the elite ball strikers on tour, as lush rough will catch errant tee shots, not to mention towering trees lining the fairways to catch those who stray even further off-line. Players with strong iron play will also benefit this week, as the bentgrass greens at Narashino run on the smaller side and are quite an enigma to navigate. Scoring is important, but staying patient and avoiding the big number is arguably the most important area in order to find success. Each of the last three winners of this event have finished at -15 or worse for the week. Birdies will come at a premium and sometimes, par can actually be a good score. Just play what the course gives you, especially if the winds pick up as the event goes on, and don’t shoot yourself in the foot by playing sloppy golf. With just 78 players teeing it up this week, some of the mid-pack players will have a chance to possibly take center stage, but they’ll have to play their best if they want to take down some of the studs that are teeing it up this week, including defending champion Collin Morikawa.
The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was first held in 2019 and has produced a short, but strong list of winners, with Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley and Collin Morikawa all finding victory in this event once.
The 18-hole scoring record is 61, which was fired by Richy Werenski in the second round at Sherwood Country Club in 2020 and matched by John Huh in the second round at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club in 2023.
The 72-hole scoring record at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club is 261 (-19), which was fired by Tiger Woods during the inaugural edition in 2019. The 72-hole scoring record at Sherwood Country Club is -23 (265), which was achieved by Patrick Cantlay during his victory in 2020.
Last year’s edition was won by Collin Morikawa, who shot a final round 63 to win by six strokes over Eric Cole and Beau Hossler. Ryo Ishikawa and Robby Shelton both finished tied for fourth, seven strokes off the pace.
Frankly, I’ve not heard of Mr. Hiroshi Iwata. I wish him luck this weekend, but I don’t see him having a strong tournament.
Matt Kuchar had a nice showing last week at the Shriners Children’s Open, finishing -15. He’s been pretty active in the events following the TOUR Championship (which he did not play in), and it makes sense to me to pick a dark horse who has been playing consistently over the past few weeks. While he is a world’s away from Las Vegas this weekend, Kuchar will surely keep a hot hand and finish within the Top 20.
Xander Schauffele did not perform well at last year’s ZOZO, but in this week’s field, he shines bright. Having had a stellar 2024 so far, we predict Schauffele will keep the good times rolling and pick up a Top 10 finish this weekend.
In a field that is less than stellar, picking last year’s champion to repeat feels like a safe bet. Collin Morikawa triumphed at the ZOZO last season, so why not pick him to take this year’s crown? Playing in his first event since the TOUR Championship, Morikawa may have some rust to shake off, but we predict he will have little trouble this weekend.
Discover more from Birdies and Burnouts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.