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Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2020 ZOZO Championship

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Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the ZOZO Championship

The ZOZO Championship Fantasy Preview

And so the madness continues!

From a slew of winners who many thought their best days were behind them, along comes Jason Kokrak – a PGA TOUR maiden with just six top-5 finishes to his name from nine years at the top of the game – to win the invitational, high quality CJ Cup.

Maybe it’s proof that the big names aren’t quite at the top of their game right now, but the fact that Kokrak dueled with Russell Henley and (less surprisingly) Xander Schauffele at Shadow Creek suggests that, once again, making predictions as to who would win was something of a fool’s errand.

To be fair to Kokrak, he has at times looked like a quality performer who is likely to win on the PGA TOUR, and he did that in Vegas with an excellent final round of 64 that neither Henley nor Schauffele could match.

As ever, if you had lot of inside information – we’re talking a real ‘ear to the ground’ job – you might just have foreseen a strong performance incoming. Kokrak actually said afterwards that he had played Shadow Creek ‘north of 20 times’, which gave him an edge on most in the field, and as is often the way a switch to a 36-inch putter saw him rank first for SG: Putting for the first time in his career. It’s a lesson learned that, occasionally, the clues are out there when trying to solve the puzzle of who might win.

This week it’s off to California for the ZOZO Championship, which understandably has been moved from its normal Japanese home due to COVID-19, and if you are growing tired of these repatriated Asian Swing events fear not – next week we have the Bermuda Championship, and then after that all roads lead to Augusta as the warm-up event, the Houston Open, is followed by The Masters.

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Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Rahm-bo was our top guy last week at Shadow. The Spaniard finished T17 and our other studs for the week were Morikawa (T12) and Cameron Smith (T11).   

The Sleeper Report produced 3 top 11s out of 5 picks including Bubba Watson (T7), Joaquin Niemann (6th) and Ian Poulter (T11).

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The ZOZO Championship 2020 Field

You could pretty much hold up a mirror to the CJ Cup field when analyzing who will tee it up at the Sherwood Country Club this week, with a few notable exceptions.

Dustin Johnson, who holds the course record here and whose father-in-law to be, Wayne Gretzky, is a member, is a late withdrawal following his COVID-19 test.

Elsewhere, Tiger Woods makes his anticipated return to Tour life at a venue where he used to host the World Challenge – he has an excellent record at this layout.

Otherwise, it’s the same big guns who headed to Vegas, with Rory, Justin Thomas, Rahm, Schauffele, Morikawa and Reed taking headline honors.

Additionally, the invitational criteria for the ZOZO Championship mean that a number of leading pros from the Japan Golf Tour – notably Ryo Ishikawa and Shugo Imahira – and from the other Asian Tours will also be in town.

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This Week’s Course Preview

Golf fans with long memories may just remember Sherwood Country Club from its time hosting the World Challenge between 2000-2013.

This gorgeous slab of real estate just outside the city of Thousand Oaks, California was designed by Jack Nicklaus, who also gave the layout something of a makeover in 2015 to ensure it meets the rigors of the modern game.

At 7,020 yards for its Par 72, Sherwood is mega short and features the unique routing of five Par 3s and a quintet of Par 5s – organizers may yet decide to map the course slightly differently and drop one of those Par 5s to a Par 4.

Thousand Oaks is a name that is descriptive in more ways than one, because while Sherwood CC isn’t tree-lined like an Augusta it still has plenty of trees in full bloom lining the fairways, and they will of course dictate that shot shaping and course management will be key.

The large Bentgrass greens have been overseeded with Poa Annua, and should run pretty pure this week.

The key defenses of Sherwood Country Club are the lakes and streams which line the fairways of a number of holes, and there are some rather stark elevation changes from tee box to fairways and from fairway to green that will require accurate club selection and a pure strike of the ball.

For reference, Dustin Johnson holds the course record here at 61, which suggests that Sherwood is a course that can be got at when the conditions suit.

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Weather Forecast for Thousand Oaks, CA

There’s a unique twist to the weather in Thousand Oaks this week.

On the face of it, this is your typically Fall week in California, with sunny spells matched by pleasant if not hot temperatures of around 64-72°.

But here’s the thing: there looks set to be a real AM/PM split on all four days of the events. Frist thing in the morning, the temperature is low but also the wind is gentle and calm too, with speeds of up to 5 mph the harshest the AM wave are likely to experience.

In the PM, the temperature increases – that will please the players – but so too does the wind, with 10-13 mph expected in the afternoon.

Of course, this is a 78-man tournament and so the morning/afternoon splits won’t be as stark, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

THOUSAND OAKS WEATHER

Last Year’s Results for the ZOZO Championship

Perhaps it as fitting that the 2019 ZOZO Championship, the first PGA TOUR event ever to be played on Japanese soil, was won by arguably the best there ever was.

Tiger Woods levelled Sam Snead’s all-time title haul with 82 after outlasting the field at Narashino GC – and that was despite the incredible stat that he bogeyed his first three holes played on the Thursday!

It helps that he birdied nine of the next fifteen to share the first round lead with Gary Woodland, and he maintained his lead throughout – despite the frustration of having to finish on Monday after darkness brought a premature end to Sunday’s play.

Woods finished three clear of local favorite Hideki Matsuyama, who played his last eight holes in -3 to give the Japanese crowd a huge buzz.

No Title

Every shot from Tiger Woods’ 5 birdies and 2 bogeys in the final round of the 2019 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Woods tied Sam Snead for most victories all time with his 82nd PGA TOUR win, a 3-shot triumph over Hideki Matsuyama.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the ZOZO Championship this Week

Even though 78-man invitational fields are not where DFS golf dreams are made, that’s not to say that opportunity doesn’t await those drafting a few line-ups and sprinkling them into these big-hitting contests.

  • PGA $250k Club Twirl: To give you a flavor of the evolution and progress of DFS golf, this Club Twirl contest had a $50k prize kitty – look at it now! For a $44 entry, you will get your shot at a $50k top prize and the chance to more than double your money for finishing inside the top-500.
  • PGA $500k Resurgence: 100,000 big ones….that’s the jackpot on offer in this $10 contest, and somebody has to win it so why not you? Besides, you can’t get much for $10 these days and if you finish inside the top 25% of players, approximately, you will win a payout.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the ZOZO Championship

Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III.

Those are just some of the winners at Sherwood Country Club, and straight off the bat it reveals that length is not completely vital this week.

It’s fun, because the routing of the course gives even shorter guys a chance to attack the Par 5s in two, and so the advantage that the bombers has is negated somewhat – this is a nice and open tournament that all can thrive in.

Aside from the usual yardsticks – this is Californian golf, so form on Bentgrass/Poa Annua on the west coast is helpful, there is a clear emphasis on ball striking this week….as you would expect from a Jack Nicklaus layout.

Errant tee shots will be gobbled up by the trees and rough, while there is water in play on a number of holes too. Elevation changes will also catch some out too.

And there should a premium on approach play. The greens are so large that they feature a number of different quadrants, and finding the right section to feed towards the hole or at least avoid a lengthy two putt for par will be key.

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the ZOZO Championship

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

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[counter num_start=”0″ num_end=”3702118″ num_speed=”5000″ num_prefix=”$” text_above=”Season Earnings” text_below=”$740,424 average”]
[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”7.14%” bar_text=3 out of 42 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.28%” bar_text=”6 out of 42 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”41.67%” bar_text=”10 out of 42 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=”16.67%” bar_text=”1 out of 6 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”81%” bar_text=”34 out of 42 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

Remember to visit our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the ZOZO Championship with other Premium Members.


Cover Photo via Instagram

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