Steve Palmer's Zozo Championship predictions & free golf betting tips + a £40 free bet

When to bet on the Zozo Championship

The Zozo Championship takes place from Thursday, October 19 to Sunday, October 22, so you’ll want to place your bets well ahead of schedule.

Make sure to place your bets on the Zozo Championship by 12.45am on Thursday, October 19

It’s also worth noting that Paddy Power are offering a £40 free bet that you can grab here ahead of the event.

Where can I watch the Zozo Championship

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 4am on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Zozo Championship predictions

Sungjae Im
4pts each-way 14-1 general

Cameron Davis
3pts each-way 20-1 Betfair, Hills, Paddy Power

Takumi Kanaya
1pt each-way 80-1 bet365

Click here to add Steve's selections to your Paddy Power betslip

You can bet on the Zozo Championship here and get £40 in golf free bets from Paddy Power

Steve Palmer's Zozo Championship preview

Ryder Cup losers Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa head the market for the Zozo Championship in Japan and both Californians are looking to bounce back from their disappointment against Europe.

Schauffele and Morikawa are winless this year – it is almost two years since Morikawa last lifted a trophy. They each contributed just a point to the American cause in the Ryder Cup, despite both starting four matches.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Sungjae Im 14-1

Cheerful Korean Sungjae Im can upstage the American raiders in Japan this week and continue his joyful autumn. Im won a crucial gold medal at the Asian Games at the start of this month, meaning he is exempt from the two years of military service for his country, which would otherwise have been mandatory.

The relief of gaining that freedom to continue his PGA Tour career indefinitely has done wonders for Im's mental health and should result in an improved performance. This week sees his first PGA Tour start since his Asian Games glory.

The two-time PGA Tour champion kept himself ticking over in Asia by competing in a Korean Tour event last week, losing a playoff for the Genesis Championship. The Asian Games were in China, he was in South Korea last week and made the short journey to Japan on Sunday, so Im is nicely settled in the region.

Narashino plays to Im's strengths and he was third there in the 2019 Zozo, beaten only by Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama. Im was 29th on his only subsequent Narashino start. Tom Kim won the Shriners Children's Open on Sunday and the chances of back-to-back South Korean champions on the PGA Tour seem high.

Next best bet

Cameron Davis 20-1

Sweet-swinging Australian Cameron Davis won his national Open in 2017, a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2018, a PGA Tour title in 2021 and this year he has featured on some top-class leaderboards, including sixth place in the Players Championship and fourth spot in the US PGA.

Davis, technically perfect and one of the best ball-strikers on the circuit, should start filling his mantelpiece with silverware over the next few years. Five of his last six tournaments have resulted in a top-ten finish – all PGA Tour events – including third place in the Fortinet Championship a month ago and seventh in the Shriners Open on Sunday.

Davis, excellent in the wind, will not fear the weather forecast. He finished 29th on his Narashino debut last year and better can be expected on his return. He was on the winning team in the 2013 Nomura Cup – a prestigious amateur event in Thailand – and is comfortable competing in Asia.

Other selection

Takumi Kanaya 80-1

The Japanese contingent must be respected this week and Takumi Kanaya looks the best value option of the lot. This ever-improving 25-year-old was world number one amateur for 55 weeks and won the 2019 Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Tour when he was still in the unpaid ranks.

Kanaya won the 2020 Dunlop Phoenix and he has won twice on the Japan Tour this year, as well as once on the Asian Tour – when he defeated Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann, Sergio Garcia and others in Oman in February. That triumph came in windy conditions like those expected in Japan over the first two days this week.

Kanaya, who was seventh in the 2019 Zozo at Narashino, boasts Japan Tour form figures of 2-7-1-16-16-3-27.

Course guide for the Zozo Championship

• Course Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Chiba, Japan
• Prize money $8.5m ($1.53m to the winner)
• Length 7,079 yards
• Par 70 – three par-fives; ten par-fours; five par-threes
• Field 78 (no cut)
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Xander Schauffele (6), Keegan Bradley (16), Collin Morikawa (20), Rickie Fowler (24), Sungjae Im (26)

• Course records - 72 holes 261 Tiger Woods (2019) 18 holes 62 Andrew Putnam (2022)
• Course winners taking part Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley
• When to bet By 12.45am on Thursday morning
  

• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 4am on Thursday
  
• Time difference Japan is eight hours behind the UK and Ireland
  
• Last week – Shriners Children's Open 1 T Kim (12-1), 2 A Hadwin (40-1), T3 E Cole (35-1), A Noren (80-1), JT Poston (33-1), T Pendrith (90-1), T7 B Hossler (40-1), C Davis (22-1), J Dahmen (125-1), C Hadley (80-1), I Salinda (400-1), K.H. Lee (66-1)
  
• Course type Parkland
  
• Course overview The inaugural Zozo was staged at Narashino in 2019 – won by Tiger Woods – but the 2020 event was moved to Sherwood Country Club in California because of Covid travel issues. The last two Zozo Championships have been at Narashino. This is a tight, tree-lined layout with numerous doglegs, and water in play on five holes. There are two greens on each hole (only one of each will be used each day, with free drops off the other) and they are all relatively small
  
• Story of last year Keegan Bradley edged Andrew Putnam and Rickie Fowler by a shot
  
• Weather forecast Windy for the first two days, particularly on Friday afternoon, before a calm weekend. Temperatures ranging from 18C and 25C
  
• Type of player suited to the challenge Two of the best iron-players in the game – Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama – have triumphed at Narashino. Tee-to-green accuracy seems the key to success
  
• Key attribute Accuracy

Steve Palmer's Zozo Championship key stat

All three winners of the Zozo at Narashino had already won a PGA Tour event outside the United States

Grab a £40 Paddy Power free bet on the 2023 Zozo Championship

We’ve already mentioned that Paddy Power are offering a £40 free bet to place on all of the golf action at the event.

Here’s where you can follow these simple steps to grab your £40 free bet to place on Steve Palmer’s 2023 Zozo Championship tips… it's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Paddy Power through this link and click the Join button on their homepage
2. Create your username and password
3. Make a deposit of £10 or more using a card & place a bet on a sportsbook market with odds of 1-2 or greater
4. You will be rewarded with £40 of free bet tokens added to your balance

Paddy Power golf Zozo Championship betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new golf betting signup offer before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of the Zozo Championship free bets and what's expected of you as a new customer.

• New UK & ROI customers only
• Minimum deposit £10 bet at minimum odds of 1-2 to qualify 
• Get £40 in free bets, valid for 30 days
• SMS verification required
• Bets placed on Greyhound racing markets are excluded
• Only deposits via cards will qualify

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.