2023 ZOZO Championship Predictions & Preview

The FedEx Cup Fall Series continues this week as top golfers head to East Asia and so Sports Hub is providing you with 2023 ZOZO Championship predictions! 

Following a short break after the end of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, a number of the PGA Tour’s top golfers will be returning to compete in the 2023 ZOZO Championship in Japan. 

The likes of Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama will be competing in this year’s tournament and will all be very popular choices for ZOZO Championship predictions. Could Keegan Bradley retain his crown after winning the tournament in 2022?

2023 Shriners Children’s Open Results 

Tom Kim was the clear frontrunner to win the Shriners Children’s Open last week and that’s exactly why I had him as one of my picks to win the tournament. The South Korean unduly delivered to win back-to-back tournaments at TPC Summerlin. 

Kim, aged 21-years-old, became the youngest golfer on the PGA Tour to win three career titles since Tiger Woods. He has a bright future ahead of him. Kim shot 20-under to beat Adam Hadwin by a single stroke. I also had J.T. Poston to finish inside the top 5 and he finished T3. 

Make sure you check out my handicapper page, Ashlee Kiddell, to find out all of my 2023 ZOZO Championship predictions. Fingers crossed I can find the victor in successive tournaments!

2023 ZOZO Championship Preview

When: Wednesday, October 18th – Sunday, October 22nd, 2023

Where: Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Japan

TV: Golf Channel / ESPN+ / Peacock

Field: 78 Golfers (No Cut)

Purse: $8,500,000 (Winner gets $1,530,000)

Bradley was victorious at the 2022 ZOZO Championship as he finished one shot below Rickie Fowler and Andrew Putnam to win at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. That was Bradley’s fifth career win on the PGA Tour to end a four-year winless drought. He will be fighting to retain his title when he returns to Japan for the 2023 ZOZO Championship. 

The PGA Tour will go on break for another couple of weeks after the tournament here and the Fall Series won’t return until November 5th for the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico. Be sure to get your golf fix this weekend! 

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club Course Information

Par: 70 / Yards: 7,079

Greens: Bentgrass 

Par 3s: 5 / Par 4s: 10 / Par 5s: 3

Tiger Woods won the inaugural ZOZO Championship in what was the first-ever tournament on the PGA Tour to be played in Japan. Matsuyama finished as runner-up in his home country in 2019 and would go on to win the tournament in 2021. 

The course is extremely short and the ZOZO Championship is a par 70 with five par 3s. The par 3s themselves are short as well, meaning that contenders will need to utilize their iron game. Elite ball-strikers will prosper at Narashino CC and forecasts expect dry weather conditions. Top contenders will be accurate off the tee. 

Expert ZOZO Championship Predictions for 2023

Despite underperforming at the Ryder Cup, Schauffele (+600) leads the market to win the 2023 ZOZO Championship. The 29-year-old is the highest ranked golfer in the tournament (6th), based on PGA Tour rankings, but hasn’t won a tournament since July 2022. 

Nevertheless, Schauffele is a world class golfer and it comes as little surprise that he is the current favorite to win in Japan. He finished second in the Tour Championship back in August at East Lake and secured a T9 finish in last year’s ZOZO Championship. 

Matsuyama (+1350) is a well-liked choice for 2023 ZOZO Championship predictions. In spite of finishing T40 in 2022, he did win the tournament back in 2021 and finished as runner-up in 2019. Playing at home will give him a boost and he loves playing at Narashino CC. However, he did have to withdraw from the BMW Championship back in August due to a back injury. 

Finishing T3 in the Shriners Children’s Open last week, Eric Cole (+2800) could shine in Japan. However, he is priced that long for a reason since the field in this tournament is a lot stronger. 

Top Contenders to Win the 2023 ZOZO Championship

As previously stated, those who are in for success at Narashino CC will more than likely play well off the tee. That is one of Schauffele’s drawbacks and that could limit his chances here. He ranks 46th in SG: Off-the-Tee, behind the likes of J.J. Spaun, Aaron Rai and Akshay Bhatia. However, the American ranks ninth in SG: Tee-to-Green, meaning his approach play should help him out if his driver lets him down. 

Morikawa (+950) is the second favorite to win the 2023 ZOZO Championship but is currently on a big drought since his last PGA Tour triumph. Although Schauffele hasn’t won in over a year, Morikawa hasn’t won since 2021. His short price means he could be a popular selection to fade and he finished T45 in last year’s edition of the ZOZO Championship as well. 

Having won the Fortinet Championship back in September, Sahith Theegala (+1750) is a top contender for ZOZO Championship predictions. He finished T5 at the 2022 ZOZO Championship so has performed well on this course before. His ranking of 129th in SG: Off-the-Tee will hinder his chances here, however. 

Of course, I also have to take a look at the chances of the 2022 ZOZO Championship champion in Bradley. He is priced at +2000 to win the crown again, meaning he is one of the top-ten contenders. Bradley clearly loves playing at Narashino CC and has previous success in other tournaments in Japan too. He won the Travelers Championship back in June as well so will be a popular choice here. 

Longshots to Win the 2023 ZOZO Championship

I opted not to back Emiliano Grillo last week and I made the right choice as he failed to make the cut at the Shriners Children’s Open. He missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship the week prior too so the Argentine is seriously out of form. He is currently priced at +5500 to win the ZOZO Championship but did finish fourth in the 2022 tournament. 

An underdog choice that I do like, though, is Adam Svensson (+4000). I backed him for a top 5 finish at the Shriners Children’s Open last week but he finished T18. He also finished T16 at the Sanderson Farms Championship so he is currently playing at a good standard. The Canadian’s excellent ball-striking ability will do him well once again in Japan. 

A longshot selection that appears to be a well-backed choice for ZOZO Championship predictions is Cameron Champ (+4500). He also finished T18 last week in Las Vegas and secured a top-ten finish in last year’s ZOZO Championship, shooting 11-under. He has had past success during the fall, with his first-ever PGA Tour win coming in the month of October. 

2023 ZOZO Championship Predictions – Outright Winner

ZOZO Championship predictions will start off with outright winners. I have selected three contenders to go on and win the tournament. A couple of them are shorter prices, whilst I have also identified a longer odds selection. 

I picked the winner of the Shriners Children’s Open last week with Tom Kim so the hope is that I can find back-to-back tournament winners. I have been in strong form of late with my outright winners, selecting the winner last week, the Ryder Cup winner and the Tour Championship victor. Let’s hope that that strong run of form can continue!

Best Bet: SIGN IN TO ACCESS PICK  

2023 ZOZO Championship Predictions – Top 5 Finish

I’m sticking with Svensson again this week and I am hoping that his solid form of late will help him finally break the top 5 this time around. His putting game is improving each week too. 

The price for Champ to finish inside the top 5 (+950) looks too good a value to pass up as well so I will be selecting him for my other top 5 finish for ZOZO Championship predictions. 

Best Bet: Adam Svensson (+700) & Cameron Champ (+950)

2023 ZOZO Championship Odds

Here are the odds for the top 30 golfers at the 2023 ZOZO Championship (subject to change):

• Xander Schauffele (+600)
• Collin Morikawa (+950)
• Sungjae Im (+1150)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+1350)
• Rickie Fowler (+1550)
• Min Woo Lee (+1550)
• Sahith Theegala (+1750)
• Cameron Davis (+1800)
• Keegan Bradley (+2000)
• Adam Scott (+2500)
• Eric Cole (+2800)
• Beau Hossler (+3500)
• Alex Noren (+4000)
• Adam Svensson (+4000)
• Adam Schenk (+4000)
• Vincent Norrman (+4000)
• Cameron Champ (+4500)
• Thomas Detry (+4500)
• Aaron Rai (+5000)
• J.J. Spaun (+5000)
• Nicolai Hojgaard (+5000)
• K.H. Lee (+5500)
• Emiliano Grillo (+5500)
• Kurt Kitayama (+6000)
• Joel Dahmen (+6000)
• Keith Mitchell (+6500)
• S.H. Kim (+6500)
• Tom Hoge (+7000)
• Matt Wallace (+7000)
• Takumi Kanaya (+7000