Steve Palmer's Zozo Championship predictions & golf betting tips
Collin Morikawa can follow up on CJ Cup near-miss by becoming king of Narashino
Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club on the PGA Tour.
Where to watch
Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 5am on Thursday
Best bets
Collin Morikawa
4pts 13-2 Betfred, Hills
Takumi Kanaya
1pt each-way 66-1 Betfred
Emiliano Grillo
1pt each-way 45-1 Betfred
Keegan Bradley
1pt each-way 40-1 Betfred
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Tiger Woods was victorious in the last Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club - and everybody dreams of the day he can return to action - but top billing in Japan this week goes to two of Tiger's compatriots.
Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa are jostling for favouritism. Schauffele carded rounds of 69, 69, 69 and 63 in the CJ Cup last week, so may be peaking for the Zozo. The Californian said he had one of the biggest hangovers of his life after celebrating Ryder Cup glory - and he made a sluggish start in Las Vegas last week.
Schauffele has Japanese grandparents and won Olympic gold in Tokyo in August - his mother and father have joined him on this trip to Chiba - so motivation is clearly high. The concern for Schauffele, though, will be his driving. He was 72nd of the 78 CJ Cup runners for driving accuracy last week and will need to hit his ball straighter off the tee to triumph at Narashino.
Steve Palmer's top tip
Collin Morikawa 13-2
Either side of 45 minutes of madness on Friday, Collin Morikawa was magnificent in the CJ Cup at Summit Club last week, and the world number three can be expected to build on that performance with a strong Zozo Championship.
Morikawa dropped four shots in three holes from the tenth hole through the 12th in round two of the CJ Cup, getting detached and leaving himself too much to do over the weekend. Generally, he was solid off the tee, his iron-play was typically superb, he was accurate through the bag and his putting was decent throughout.
Even with that Friday stumble, Morikawa almost did enough to win the CJ Cup. He was eight under par through 11 holes of round four, before making six pars in the row from there, meaning his 18th-hole eagle was enough only for the runner-up spot behind Rory McIlroy.
Morikawa enjoyed an excellent Ryder Cup debut - winning three-and-a-half points from four matches as America crushed Europe - and he has carried that form into the new PGA Tour season. His father is Japanese and the Zozo means a lot to him.
Narashino was playing extremely soft in 2019 - heavy rain drenched the track - which made life tougher for Morikawa. He still managed to finish in 22nd place - as a PGA Tour rookie with hardly any overseas experience. He finished fifth in the 2019 Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan and nearly won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics in August.
Woods won the 2019 Zozo with an exhibition of iron-play. The best iron-player in the world at the moment is Morikawa - and Narashino could be at his mercy.
Next best bet
Takumi Kanaya 66-1
A super-talented 23-year-old Japanese could use the Zozo as a springboard to the PGA Tour. Takumi Kanaya, who was world number one amateur for 55 weeks, looks like the best young Japanese player in the game.
Kanaya won on the Japan Tour when he was still an amateur in 2019. That was one of the better events on the schedule - the Taiheiyo Masters - so the youngster quickly advertised his potential. He has won two more times on his home circuit, including the Dunlop Phoenix, which was the premier tournament in Japan until the creation of the Zozo.
Kanaya has finished no worse than 16th in his last seven Japan Tour events. There have been three top-fives in that streak, so he is full of form and confidence, ready to mix it with the Stateside raiders.
Other selections
Emiliano Grillo 45-1
Keegan Bradley 40-1
McIlroy and Morikawa were rightly getting all the headlines in the CJ Cup on Sunday, but Emiliano Grillo also deserved some recognition for his magical finish on Sunday. The Argentinian covered his final six holes in seven under par - birdie, eagle, par, birdie, birdie, eagle - putting the icing on the cake of an 11-under-par 61.
Grillo spectacularly found his A-game in Vegas - and can contend if he carries it to Japan. He has won on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour, and he almost became a Japan Tour champion in 2016, losing a playoff for the Handa Global Cup.
Grillo has made a tidy start to the new PGA Tour season and is well suited to Narashino, where he got some course experience through finishing 30th in the 2019 Zozo.
Complete a four-pronged attack with Keegan Bradley, who, like Grillo, is typically a solid operator from tee to green. Bradley, a strong driver who finished runner-up in the Valspar Championship in May, was 11th in The Northern Trust two months ago.
Bradley was 32nd of 78 in Vegas last week, but his putting stroke looked better than it has for ages, and he finished 22nd in the putting stats. If he has made a breakthrough on the greens, Bradley suddenly becomes a threat to all, as his ball-striking is usually mustard. He carded a course-record 63 on his way to 13th spot in the 2019 Zozo.
Players to note
Hideki Matsuyama
The Masters champion - the most famous Japanese golfer in history - will command the greatest galleries. A poor fortnight in Las Vegas, though, may have dented confidence.
C.T Pan
A final-round 63 and a playoff success won the Taiwanese a bronze medal in Japan in August and he returns to the country in good nick, with form figures of 6-11 from his last two PGA Tour starts.
Will Zalatoris
The greens-in-regulation machine should give a decent account of himself, but he has never played competitively in Asia and is making his course debut.
Mackenzie Hughes
The Canadian carded a second-round 62 in the CJ Cup. He is making his Narashino debut, but could make some headway once he settles.
Narashino course guide
Course Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Chiba, Japan
Prize money $9.95m ($1.44m to the winner)
Length 7,041 yards
Par 70
Field 78 (no cut)
Course records- 72 holes 261 Tiger Woods (2019) 18 holes 63 Keegan Bradley (2019), Rory McIlroy (2019)
When to bet By 12.30am Thursday
When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 5am on Thursday
Time difference Japan is eight hours ahead of the UK and Ireland
Last week - CJ Cup 1 R McIlroy (18-1), 2 C Morikawa (16-1), T3 K Mitchell (300-1), R Fowler (140-1), T5 T Gooch (66-1), S Burns (28-1), A Wise (60-1), A Scott (60-1)
Course type Parkland
Course overview Accordia Narashino made its PGA Tour debut in 2019, although it hosted the Japan Skins match between Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama on the Monday prior. Sherwood Country Club, California, took over last year during the pandemic. Narashino was opened in 1965 and is a 36-hole complex – the Zozo Championship uses a composite course of the best 18 holes at the venue. There are only three par-fives on the scorecard – the 587-yard sixth, the 608-yard 14th and the 562-yard 18th – and five par-threes. The toughest holes are the 505-yard par-four fourth, the 486-yard par-four 11th and the 490-yard par-four 12th. This is a tight, tree-lined, parkland layout with water in play on five holes, and numerous doglegs. Curiously, there are two greens on each hole (obviously only one of each will be used each day, with free drops off the other) and they are all fairly small.
Story of last year Patrick Cantlay laid the foundation for his FedEx Cup success by winning the Zozo at Sherwood CC, defeating Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm by a shot.
Weather forecast Cloudy and calm for the most part, with temperatures ranging between 13C and 18C.
Type of player suited to the challenge Tiger Woods won the only Zozo at Narashino with an exhibition of iron-play in soft conditions. Tee-to-green precision is the key to success.
Key attribute Accuracy
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