Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2022 ZOZO Championship
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2022 ZOZO Championship
ZOZO Championship Fantasy Preview
On a timeline in which, it seems, the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf will continue to lock horns for the foreseeable future, the former has the edge over the latter in one key category: their young stars that are developing at some pace.
Okay, so Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim spent his formative years in his native South Korea and on the Asian Tour, but since coming over to America his career has gone into the stratosphere.
And, at the age of just 20, he has reached a world ranking of 14 after picking up his second PGA TOUR title at the Shriners Children’s Open last week.
His all-round game is exceptional, but that putting stroke….if Kim can stay focused on golf and avoid other distractions, it’s incredible to think what he might achieve in the sport.
The Korean is the first player in 25 years to win two PGA TOUR titles prior to their 21st birthday – a gentleman by the name of T. Woods was the last to do so, and he also became just the third player in nearly 50 years to win on TOUR without making a single bogey.
In the end, he proved simply too good at TPC Summerlin, and took the trophy courtesy of a Sunday 66 that saw him finish three strokes clear of course specialist Patrick Cantlay and Matthew NeSmith.
Kim will get a chance to return to the Far East this week as the PGA TOUR makes a one-off visit to Japan for the ZOZO Championship.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
ZOZO Championship Field
Tom Kim will lead a classy Asian presence at the ZOZO Championship, with Sungjae Im, Si-Woo Kim and Kyoung-Hoon Lee also on the plane.
But leading the way for the home contingent will surely be Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion who finished second in his other visit to the Narashino Country Club. He will be cheered on to some tune by the Japanese crowd.
Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa both have familial ties to Japan, with the former winning his Olympic Games gold medal in Tokyo into the bargain.
The likes of Cameron Young, Viktor Hovland, Corey Conners and Sepp Straka also stand out in a decent field of players making the trip from the US, and you might want to be keep an eye on home favorite Keita Nakajima, who is rated as being amongst the best amateurs on the planet.
This Week’s Course Preview
Narashino Country Club has hosted two editions of the ZOZO Championship, and on both occasions the top of the leaderboard was frequented by PGA TOUR regulars.
There’s a number of reasons for that – these are the best players in the world being one of them, but also relevant is that Narashino has the look of a classic parklands course in the United States. It’s no secret that many of the elite layouts in Asia have been modelled on traditional courses in America and Europe, and so it’s no surprise that players from all four corners of the globe feel at home there.
At around 7,100 yards for its Par 70, and with dense treelines, doglegging fairways and juicy rough, Narashino is the kind of track where the players have to pick and plot their way around, but that’s not to say there aren’t birdies to be made – 2019 champion Woods made 27 of them when he won the inaugural hosting of this event.
That said, Matsuyama was in grinding form when he won here 12 months ago, making 19 birdies but just five bogeys, and all told Narashino provides an excellent test of all-round golf.
There’s undulations and some water hazards to watch out for too, and so Narashino Country Club will deliver a fair test of ball-striking and putting on its smooth Bentgrass greens.
Weather Forecast for Chiba, JPN
Historically, October is the wettest month of the year for many parts of Japan, which would make you query why the PGA TOUR chooses to travel there at this this particular juncture of the calendar.
And there looks to be some of the wet stuff around this week as well, with Thursday and Friday looking likely to see the worst of the downpours.
The weekend looks to be somewhat brighter, although keep your eyes peeled for the wind predictions on Sunday – in the forecast we’ve seen, the breeze actually changes direction during the course of the afternoon, which will be fun for the players to try and figure out.
As far as the temperatures are concerned, the mercury could hit a pleasing enough 77˚F, although this is a humid, rather than sun-baked, kind of heat.
Last Year’s Results from the ZOZO Championship
Having finished second behind Tiger in the PGA TOUR’s first trip to Narashino in 2019, Hideki Matsuyama was determined to go one better last year.
And the Japanese ace delighted his home support by closing out a famous victory on his native soil, capped by an extraordinary 240-yard approach shot on the final hole on Sunday that nearly plopped in for an albatross.
Either way, Hideki won by five shots in the end with a score of -15, although things might have been different had Cameron Tringale not lost his way after pulling level with Matsuyama at the turn on the closing Sunday.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the ZOZO Championship this Week
Here’s one of those awkward small field, no cut events where the skills of the sharpest daily fantasy gamers are blunted by an inability to maximize their leverage. But there’s one way around that: take on single entry, or multi-entry of three teams or less, contests to confirm your advantage.
- PGA $20k Albatross: This $12 entry contest boasts a $2,000 top prize and really is a single bullet game – you’ll have one lineup only in a bid to get your hands on a slice of the $20,000 prize pool.
- PGA $8k Mulligan: If you want to spread your wings a little wider, this contest lets you enter three different (or duped) lineups for $8 apiece in a bid to land the $750 top prize. There’s space for just 1,176 teams, so opportunity knocks in this contest.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes
There is certainly a theme of classic, traditional golf about Narashino Country Club, and so it’s such courses that we will focus on in our handicapping for the ZOZO Championship.
Augusta is one such layout – Matsuyama won there too, of course – as are the likes of Riviera, Colonial, TPC Southwind, Bay Hill, Innisbrook and TPC Sawgrass. These are useful pointers for success this week.
As for a data-led approach, unfortunately the PGA TOUR doesn’t pack up its ShotLink lasers for this Asian jaunt, so we don’t have an insight into the Strokes Gained data of the previous champions.
However, both Hideki and Tiger were well above-average for their GIR count on what are smaller-than-average greens, and so clearly approach play is a handy marker for success at Narashino.
The likes of Brendan Steele, Luke List, Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley also featured prominently on the leaderboard 12 months ago, and for all their weaknesses as elite players one superpower they all share is their typically long, straight driving.
So we expect ball-striking to be the definitive factor for success this week….
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the ZOZO Championship
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the ZOZO Championship
Top Tier Pick #1
Collin Morikawa (Odds: 14/1, FPPG: 73.1, GPFP: 80.38 Salary: $10,200)
To see Collin Morikawa listed as the fourth favorite with the sportsbooks – a status reflected in his value DFS salary – seems to be something of a gift.
He has a better record at Narashino than sportsbook jolly Xander Schauffele and he’s a better player than next best Sungjae Im (although the Korean could win ten PGA TOUR titles by the time his career is over, of course).
But Morikawa has the x-factor, and his super-straight driving and elite iron game will surely set him up in fine fettle at Narashino.
He has an excellent record on classic golf courses like Augusta, TPC Southwind, Colonial and Riviera, and so heads to Japan with as lively a chance as anybody else in the field.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 3rd
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 17th
- Scoring Average – 17th
Top Tier Pick #2
Corey Conners (Odds: 28/1, FPPG: 66.7, GPFP: 69.40 Salary: $9,000)
Like Morikawa, Corey Conners is a flusher who is at his best in cramped, classical conditions.
That’s because he’s a fairway finder extraordinaire and an outstanding iron and wedge players, and those tools should set up plenty of birdie opportunities on the Par 4s in particular this week.
The Canadian’s putting has improved somewhat in the past 12 months, and he has a stack of strong performances on Bentgrass greens – that should translate to Narashino, where he finished T6 back in 2019.
Key Stats:
- SG: Off-the-Tee – 5th
- SG: Approach – 16th
- Scoring Average – 20th
Mid-Tier Pick #1
Sepp Straka (Odds: 45/1, FPPG: 56.0, GPFP: 52.62 Salary: $7,900)
The ascendance of Sepp Straka is tracking very nicely, and the Austrian’s game is improving month by month.
He’s long been reliable on the greens, but his ball-striking has improved to the extent that he was able to win the Honda Classic and finish in the top-three at the RBC Heritage and FedEx St Jude, as well as serving up top-10s at the Players Championship and TOUR Championship.
Unlucky not to win in his last start at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Straka’s career is definitely heading in the right direction.
Key Stats:
- Approaches from 175-200 yards – 21st
- SG: Putting – 39th
- Total Driving – 70th
Mid-Tier Pick #2
Emiliano Grillo (Odds: 50/1, FPPG: 59.0, GPFP: 53.13 Salary: $7,700)
A fallow week at the Shriner’s sees Emiliano Grillo tumble down the pecking order this week, but are the sportsbooks acting too hastily?
The Argentine has finished inside the top-five of three of his prior eight starts, and improvements on the greens suggest he could yet improve on that form in the weeks to come.
Grillo has runners-up finishes to his name in Japan and Malaysia in the past, and so there’s still plenty to like about his chances this week.
Key Stats:
- Greens in Regulation – 38th
- SG: Putting – 43rd
- SG: Approach – 76th
Low-Tier Pick
Aaron Rai (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 58.8, GPFP: 50.53 Salary: $7,500)
– 100/1 – A spectacular round of 62 temporarily hoisted Aaron Rai to the top of the Shriners leaderboard on Saturday, and while he was unable to capitalize from there it was a moment to savour from a player with fond memories of golf in Asia.
He won the Hong Kong Open back in 2018, and regularly enjoyed playing in the Far East from his time on the DPW Tour.
Another whose strengths are best exploited when keeping your ball under absolute control are key, it will be interesting to see how Rai fares this week.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 10th
- Scrambling – 19th
- Scoring Average – 54th
Sleeper Pick for the ZOZO Championship
Russell Knox (Odds: 125/1, FPPG: 70.4, GPFP: 72.52 Salary: $7,200)
Although he missed the cut at the Shriners, Russell Knox had started his season 24-25 at the Fortinet and Sanderson Farms Championships.
That’s eye-catching enough for a guy who has played some excellent golf in Asia, with victory in the WGC HSBC Champions in China still, arguably, the pinnacle of his career.
Knox should be tidy enough off the tee and excellent on approach, if he performs to his normal standards, and so he will at least create birdie opportunities – let’s hope his unpredictable flat stick is up to the task.
Key Stats:
- Greens In Regulation – 4th
- Driving Accuracy – 19th
- SG: Approach – 25th
Alternative Sleeper Pick for the ZOZO Championship
Tomoharu Otsuki (Odds: 175/1, FPPG: 75.0, GPFP: 42.80 Salary: $6,400)
These overseas events do lend themselves to the odd curveball pick, so why not take a look at Tomoharu Otsuki – a player in fine form on Japanese soil.
The world number 136 won his maiden title on his native Japan Golf Tour this year, and all told has recorded four top-five finishes in the past few months.
He may not have a huge amount of experience in events of this magnitude, but Otsuki has a high performance ceiling and could breach the top-20 this week.
Key Stats:
- N/A
This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup
Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only. Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.
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Fantasy Golf Predictions Last Season (2021-2022)
Tourneys Played '21 -'22
Season Earnings YTD
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