Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2020 ZOZO Championship

The ZOZO Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

We’re beginning to sound like a stuck record on a week-by-week basis….but once again, a shock long odds winner came to the party at the CJ CUP.

Jason Kokrak, talented, respected but still a maiden on the PGA TOUR after ten or more years as a pro, finally got over the winning line at Shadow Creek, a course he later admitted he had played more than 20 times in his life.

He needed a bit of a leg up from Russell Henley, who tossed asunder a 54-hole lead, and Xander Schauffele, who most assumed would show his class as the finishing line approached.

But Kokrak, powered by an outstanding round of 64, held on to land a memorable first title on the PGA TOUR.

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Onwards we go, and with The Masters on the horizon those involved in this week’s ZOZO Championship will be desperate to find some form ahead of the trip to Augusta in November.

You may remember the ZOZO last year – Tiger Woods won by three shots over in Japan, where the event would be held but for COVID-19, and the Big Cat is in the field once more as the action shifts to Sherwood Country Club, incidentally where his World Challenge tournament was hosted between 2000 and 2013.

It’s a very picturesque slice of golfing property near Thousand Oaks in California, and Jack Nicklaus certainly brought his A-game when designing this 7,020 yard Par 72. It’s mighty short, absolutely, but the sizable elevation changes and dense trees help to add a degree of complexity, as do the lakes and streams which lurk here and there across the real estate.

With five Par 5s, you would expect a low score to win the thing but by being so short all players have a chance to post that magic number – former winners at Sherwood include the less than brutish Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk and Davis Love III.

The course record is held by Dustin Johnson, who unfortunately has had to withdraw from the action following his positive COVID-19 test.

And with the likes of Rory, Rahm and Justin Thomas lacking in form, perhaps the door is open for yet another huge odds winner to walk through and claim a momentous victory – here are the five that make up our ZOZO Championship 2020 sleeper report.

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The ZOZO Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Sungjae Im – 50/1 – It was a week to forget for Sungjae Im at the CJ CUP, by and large, with an opening round of 78 putting pay to any chance he had of something substantial.

But a closing 67, in which he gained +3.35 with his ball-striking and +2.03 on the greens, was a marker of just how talented the Korean is.

Sometimes you wonder how one round can change the fortunes of a player, and will certainly have left Vegas in decent spirits after that elite 18 holes.

Onto Sherwood CC….Im is a fantastic driver of the ball, and if he takes his iron play excellence from Sunday to California then surely a strong week will follow.

Sebastian Munoz – 70/1 – With top-10s at the TOUR Championship, BMW Championship and last week’s CJ CUP, Sebastian Munoz is riding a pretty hot hand right now.

The Colombian is strong in all departments and there’s no reason why he won’t take to Sherwood CC – he is a prolific birdie-maker when the mood takes hold.

Admittedly stronger on Bermuda surfaces, Munoz has still performed admirably at the likes of TPC Old White and so his game travels well no matter what the conditions serve up.

Justin Rose – 100/1 – Here’s a bit of a shot in the dark: Justin Rose, a serial winner, at 100/1!?

Of course, that’s because he has shown no form whatsoever, although solo 9th at the PGA Championship and T25 at the Northern Trust show, to some extent, that good days aren’t all too far in the rear view mirror.

And take a look at his round-by-round stats at the CJ CUP last week – there was excellence from tee to green and putting….unfortunately for him at different times.

It might sound like we’re clutching at straws, but if Rose clicks into gear – and remember, the big names aren’t at their very best right now – then who knows what he is capable of this week.

Lanto Griffin – 100/1 – A reliably excellent performer during the 2019-20 season, Lanto Griffin looked back to his best with T7 at the CJ CUP last time out.

He produced an almost ‘pitch and putt’ style performance, gaining +1.28 strokes on approach and +1.61 on the greens, and that’s a formula that brings success no matter where you play.

Griffin spent time in California growing up, and that comfortability on the west coast was evident when finishing top-10 in the AT&T Pebble Beach and the PGA Championships at TPC Harding Park. Can he make it a hat-trick of fine performances on home soil this week?

Cameron Champ – 100/1 – In the fullness of time, we expect Cameron Champ to prove he is much more than just a bomb-and-gouge merchant.

There’s more versatility to his game than that, and if you look at Champ’s stats you see that he is excellent on approach – and not just with wedges in hand.

His approach play was outstanding at the CJ CUP, and it was a poor week on the greens that ultimately caused his T42 finish.

But we can be afforded some intrigue this week given that Champ won on the Poa Annua of Silverado in 2019, so this is a surface that can work for him.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for ZOZO Championship here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “6.67%” bar_text=”2 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”20.00%” bar_text=”6 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=0%” bar_text=”0 out of 6 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 6 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”70.00%” bar_text=”21 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram