In a field led by Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and defending champion Keegan Bradley, here’s who we like at the Zozo Championship.
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Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling tips column, where we share our favorite bets for the action to come. This time it’s the Zozo Championship, which begins Thursday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. In addition to our recommended games, you will also see data from Chirp, a free mobile platform which offers a range of games with tempting prizes, giving fans all sorts of ways to get in on the action without risking any money. Note: Japan is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so set your clock accordingly.
The last time we saw him compete, at the Tour Championship in August, Keegan Bradley was a hot topic of conversation as a potential Ryder Cup captain’s choice. And it remained a subject of conjecture after The American team trampled in Rome.
Could Bradley’s presence on the American roster have made a difference?
We’ll never know.
What we can say with certainty is that, for the first time in almost two months, Bradley will be back in action this week as he looks to defend his title at the Zozo Championship in Japan. To retain the crown, he will have to eclipse an international field which includes four players who competed in Rome: Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Hojgaard. Schauffele is currently the betting favorite, followed by Morikawa and Sungjae Im. But we have three other players in mind. The envelope, please.
Favorites: Cam Davis, +2,000
After a horrible start to 2023, Davis found his game mid-season and has been strong as of late, with four top 10s in his last five starts. He now brings that sound form to Accordia Narashino Country Club, an hour from Tokyo, where a tree-lined layout with three accessible par-5s and a cluster of short par-4s should suit his power game perfectly. Now if the putter can cooperate…
Competitor: Cam Champ, +4,000
Like another young Cam (Davis), Champ had a rough start to 2023. But in his last two appearances, he has been on the hunt, combining his usual titanic drives with a more solid game around the greens. Champ’s feast-or-famine record (a win in each of his first three seasons but also scores of missed cuts) makes this a somewhat risky play. But he’s also a prodigious talent whose prowess off the tee gives him a chance to hit almost anywhere he goes.
Far shot: Satoshi Kodaira, +30,000
The middle of the fairways is a great place to play, and Kodaira finds the short grass more often than most. He ranks among the most accurate drivers in the game. He’s way off for good reason, but that’s also what makes him a fun player, in his home country, in an event where he finished T16 l ‘last year.
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