ZOZO Championship 2024 Preview - What You Need To Know

MANY of the leading lights on the PGA Tour will come out of hibernation this week to compete in the ZOZO Championship at Narashino Golf Club in Japan.

The likes of Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa have not been seen in tournament action since The Tour Championship, but this is an important event.

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And the good news for the field is that world number one Scottie Scheffler has decided to continue his extended break from the game. After winning eight times in 2024, you can be sure that his rivals will not be sorry to hear that he has opted to give Japan a miss. He is a shoo-in for Player of the Year honours. The bad news for the rest is that he is rumoured to be at home working hard on his game because he says that he believes he can get even better.

The tournament was won last year by Morikawa, who recorded his first victory in nearly two years.

The American, a two-time major winner, started the final day two shots off the lead but carded a seven-under-par 63 to secure victory by six shots. Morikawa finished on 14 under, with compatriots Eric Cole and Beau Hossler runners-up on eight under.

It was his first title since the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November 2021.

"It's meant the world," said Morikawa, whose final round included seven birdies and no bogeys. "Having this two-year drought, just struggling at times, not really contending, to do what I did through this entire week - that's the golf I miss playing.

"Weeks like this, you just have to capitalise and you just can't let things go. It just felt so good on Thursday. I knew if I didn't get ahead of myself and stayed patient that it would hopefully come together.

"This will be a huge bouncing board for me to move forward into 2024 and to, hopefully, start the year on a great note. Winning means the world but winning in Japan, being half Japanese and my last name being Morikawa, it's so special."

After such a long spell in the wilderness, Morikawa is back to something approaching his very best. Surprisingly, he has only won six times, although two of those successes were majors. In 2024 he has teed it up 21 times, making 19 cuts.

Although he has failed to add to those victories his form has been superbly consistent, none more so than in the majors. He finished tied third at The Masters, tied fourth at the US PGA, tied 14th at the US Open and tied 16th at The Open. There have also been a further six top 10 finishes in 2024, most notably a second-place finish at East Lake that took him to second place in the FedEx Cup standings.

And that is something that seems somewhat skewed when you consider the year that Schauffele is enjoying. He hasn’t missed a cut since 2022 and began the year carrying the tag that nobody wants - the best golfer never to have won a major. He put that right in spectacular fashion, winning a thrilling duel with Bryson DeChambeau to get off the mark at the US PGA Championship before an utterly dominant performance to add The Open at Royal Troon.

His record in 2024 takes some believing. In 21 starts he has had 20 top-25 finishes. Apart from his two major victories, he was tied second at The Players, second to Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo, tied second at the St Jude,  tied fifth at the BMW and tied fourth at the Tour Championship, picking up $18.3m in prize money.

His stats are remarkable. He is second in both total strokes gained and strokes gained tee to green, first in scrambling, first in total putting, first in three-putt avoidance and has the second-best scoring average at 68.51.

While Morikawa and Schauffele are likely to contend, all eyes will be on home favourite Hideki Matsuyama, who is also enjoying a resurgence. The Japanese former Masters winner suffers from back problems and it causes him some serious issues from time to time but he has bene largely pain-free this year.

He has missed just one cut, at the Scottish Open, but he did so with rounds of 71 and 67 on a week of remarkably low scoring. He won the Genesis Invitational in February and then added the FedEx St Jude in August, two weeks after picking up the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.

He had to withdraw from the BMW Championship after his back flared up again but returned for the Tour Championship the following week and finished tied ninth. He is ninth in the FedEx standings and seventh in the world rankings and would love to put on a show for his adoring fans this week.

It is an important week for Justin Thomas, who has had another extremely disappointing year. He finished in tied 17th in the very first Zozo Championship in 2019, and in 2020, he finished joint second. He has two majors to his name and 15 PGA Tour victories and he enjoys playing in Asia.

This is a limited field event with no cut.

ZOZO Championship - What You Need To Know

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2019 by Tiger Woods, in 2020 by Patrick Cantlay, in 2021 by Hideki Matsuyama, in 2022 Keegan Bradley and last year by Collin Morikawa

The Course

Accord Golf Narashine Country Club is a par 70 measuring 7,079 yards. Water comes into play on several holes. The tree-lined fairways are narrow and there are a lot of bunkers but keep the ball in play and there are plenty of chances for birdies.

Prize Money

The total prize fund is $8.5m with $1.5m going to the winner, along with 500 FedEx Cup points

How To Watch

Thursday-Sunday, Sky Sports Golf, 6am

ZOZO Championship Betting Tips & Picks

Form Guide

Xander Schauffele would be a shoo-in for player of the year if it were not for Scottie Scheffler. He has won twice this year and contends every time he tees it up. This week will be no exception. He is the man to beat.

To Win

Xander Schauffele. Imperious

Each Way

Collin Morikawa. Back to his very best

Each Way

Hideki Matsuyama. Home favourite

Five To Follow

Xander Schauffele. Has not a single weakness

Collin Morikawa. Stunning iron player

Hideki Matsuyama. Much depends on his fitness

Justin Thomas. Needs to arrest rankings slide

Sahith Theegala. Exciting talent