Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – ZOZO Championship

2019 ZOZO Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Justin Thomas has an incredible record in events played outside of the US, and he added yet another win on international soil to his name at the CJ Cup last week.

In the end, it was comfortable enough for JT, but he was made to work for his trophy by Danny Lee, a player inspired in front of his native Korean crowd.

Ultimately, Thomas was just good and claimed his eleventh PGA TOUR win in three years; nobody has won more in that time.

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The world number four has his sights set on top dog status, and he will have an immediate opportunity to follow up at this week’s outing at the ZOZO Championship.

If you’ve never heard of this tournament before then don’t feel bad: this is the inaugural hosting of this event, and the first time that the PGA TOUR has stopped by Japan.

This is classic Asian Swing territory in its invitational field, so the top-60 players from last year’s FedEx Cup standings – or those who fancied the gig, anyway – are here alongside ten of Japan’s finest and eight sponsor exemptions.

It’s a decent field then, and they will be greeted with a new experience at Narashino Country Club, which most of them will have never seen before.

Mind you, plenty will feel right at home. At first glance it looks like any parklands course you would find on the PGA or European Tours, with lush green landscapes and thick tree-lined fairways.

The greens are a familiar strain of Bentgrass too, so Narashino is like a home-from-home for the players – albeit a slightly bizarre one given that most holes have two greens. This is to tackle wear and tear, and players who end up on the wrong surface can enjoy a free drop.

There are some obstacles to overcome, with the small greens protected by bunkers, big lakes on four holes and some wickedly doglegging fairways to contend with.

But the overall feeling is one of jollity, and there’s very little for this 78-man field to fear.

With that in mind, could we see a long-odds winner of this inaugural hosting of the ZOZO Championship? Let’s take a look at our squad of sleeper picks.

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ZOZO Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Sergio Garcia – 50/1 – It’s rare to be able to back an in-form major champion at these kinds of odds.

Yes, Sergio didn’t exactly set the world alight at the CJ Cup, but this is a guy who won three starts ago in the European Tour’s KLM Open.

And he’s a six-time winner of Asian Tour events as well, so he has enjoyed plenty of success in this part of the world.

In European Tour events in the past few months Sergio’s tee-to-green stats are outstanding; if he can bring that magic to Japan, he could add yet another trophy to his collection.

Louis Oosthuizen – 50/1 – When we first saw Narashino CC, our first thoughts turned to the classic tree-lined tracks of South Africa.

And so Louis Oosthuizen should feel at home, not least because he has won in Malaysia and lost out in a play-off in Singapore in the past.

One of the really critical factors this week could be a magic short game, with these small greens likely to be missed by even the most accurate of iron players.

This is where Oosthuizen can really increase his edge over the field.

Ryan Moore – 66/1 – There have been plenty of positive signs for Ryan Moore of late; not least the rounds of 67 and 68 which propelled him up to T8 at Nine Bridges.

That follows a T13 return from the Shriners and top-20s not all that long ago at the Northern Trust and John Deere Classic, so it’s a case of slow-and-steady incremental gains for the five-time PGA TOUR winner.

As a two-time champion of the CIMB Classic, Moore is clearly at home in Asian conditions, and as a renowned shot-shaper the sight of some significant doglegs at Narashino will not faze him.

Readily overlooked, Moore can confound expectations once more in Japan.

Andrew Putnam – 66/1 – If you knock on the door for long enough, eventually somebody will let you in.

That has to be the mindset for Andrew Putnam, who has been playing excellent golf for a while now without picking up a significant, breakthrough win.

You can go back to the start of the summer to see good things from the world number 44, who banked top-fives at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Scottish Open.

He finished T32 in the British Open too after opening up 70-67, and he’s opened up this new campaign with top-20s in the Shriners and CJ Cup.

Putnam has performed well in China, Hawaii and Panama, so new conditions don’t faze him, and we expect another continuation of his fine recent form here.

Ian Poulter – 70/1 – It’s a little known golf fact that Ian Poulter won the Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan back in 2007.

In fact, the Englishman has enjoyed plenty of success in Asia, also triumphing in the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Singapore Open.

The conditions seem to suit Poulter in this part of the world, and we particularly like his chances at Narashino this week too. It’s a golf course that should suit his eye – a player capable of curving the ball either way, and for whom small greens don’t present a challenge more an opportunity for a notorious pin seeker on approach.

A third round of 66 at the CJ Cup continued his recent improvements, and Poulter is just edging towards the kind of form that has made him a multiple winner worldwide.

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

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2019-2020)

[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= “3.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 25 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”30.00%” bar_text=”9 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=”43.00%” bar_text=”13 out of 30 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram