Our golf expert brings you his preview and predictions for this week's PGA tour event, The Zozo Championship.
Zozo Championship - Winner
Another nearly week in Spain to add to the previous near miss there which has resulted in 4 places with 50/1, 66/1, 80/1 and 90/1 placers. It's a welcome return to form on that tour though which hasn't been so successful this year and hopefully we can close out the year with another winner or two. The Zozo heads back to the Narashino CC in Japan where Tiger Woods romped home in a spectacular display of golf. The course is tree lined, likened to Chapultepec by many, and I'd also look to Harding Park which held the 2020 USPGA. It's a short par 70 with a handful of short par 4s and a handful of very long ones. Targets are relatively small and approach play will be important. With the mix of long and short par 4s it wouldn't be too far removed from the skillset needed long game wise at Augusta. The 2019 leaderboard played out similarly with Augusta specialists playing their part.
Erik Van Rooyen at 40/1 (7 Places)
The field here is extremely top heavy but choosing between the two favourites is almost impossible and I'd rather take the field in a match against the two. Therefore my attention will lie elsewhere despite my thinking that Morikawa should hold the jolly tag comfortably. Erik Van Rooyen started the final round of the CJ Cup just four shots off the pace but didn't quite hit the consistency he had achieved in the earlier rounds. The 25th place there looks worse on paper than what it is and before entering the final round he looked capable of continuing a superb run of form. A win at the Barracuda in August was followed with excellent efforts in the playoff events with 7th at the Northern Trust and 5th at the BMW granting him the chance of playing in the Tour Championship. He didn't disgrace himself there either finishing 16th in the 72 hole scores and 22nd overall with only a second round of 73 proving his undoing. Now a winner on both sides of the Atlantic he looks to have reached another level and is now a fair contender in all events he plays. Add a win in China to his CV on the Challenge Tour and we have someone who won't be afraid to go and win an event such as this. Only four players ahead of him in the betting made the Tour Championship in September yet he sits around 15th in the betting. He looks one of the stronger mid range selections this week.
1.5pts each-way E.Van Rooyen 40/1 (1/5 7)
Emiliano Grillo at 40/1 (7 Places)
Emiliano Grillo with only the one tour victory could prove costly to follow at these odds but at 40/1 looks to have a fair shout of claiming his second this week. Stats wise he produced his 6th best round of his career last Sunday at the CJ Cup signing off with a final round of 61 to leapfrog into the top 20 after what had been an average week up until then. That hot putter on Sunday has been mainly what the Argentine has missed lately with his tee to green game in fine shape for a while now. I'm hoping he can ride that wave of that 61 on Sunday given that his best finish this season (runner up at Harbour Town) was following his second best finish at the Corales finishing 6th there. His only win on the pgatour at the Frys in 2015 was his next appearance having won the Web.com Tour Championship two weeks previous. Add in a runner up in Malaysia and a runner up in Japan back in 2016 and we could have someone quietly confident of competing this week. I'd have loved a bigger price but 40/1 is still fair.
1pt each-way E.Grillo 40/1 (1/5 7)
Luke List at 66/1 (6 Places)
Luke List may have missed the cut at the Shriners last time out but round of 72-67 are of little concern and with his previous effort inside the top 20 with poor putting then we have to believe he could figure once again. He finished the 2020-2021 season with three top 6 finishes in his last ten events and looked to be heading in the right direction for his maiden victory. There have been false dawns on this front before and it is still confusing as to why he hasn't broke through before now. This event is one of the weaker ones when you take out the top handful and List certainly holds a chance of being prominent at the weekend. Big hitters here have done well and I expect that to play out again amidst colder conditions.
1pt each-way L.List 66/1 (1/5 6)
Matt Wallace at 66/1 (7 Places)
Charley Hoffman would enter the conversation this week should he bounce back from a very uncharacteristic week at the CJ Cup. His approach play and putting was horrendous by his high standards lately and he probably hasn't drifted to a backable enough price to weigh in after that effort. Instead I'll opt for Matt Wallace who bounced back to some eye catching form a few weeks ago at the Shriners. Four rounds in the 60s with all aspects of his game firing was a strong showing for the Englishman and a fair bounce back after three missed cuts on the spin. He is one of those who has the distance and accuracy from the tee to make the necessary gains here to compete. He went close a few times earlier in the year with 3rd in Texas and 6th at the Wells Fargo. On his day he has a lot more class than plenty above him in the market and I'm prepared to a gamble on a layout that suits after his previous effort with a lot of positives at the Shriners.
1pt each-way M.Wallace 66/1 (1/5 7)
Pat Perez at 100/1 (6 Places)
Pat Perez has had problems with his foot and calf down the last few years and another withdrawal last week brings his career count to 27 forced early exits. He shot 67 in round 1 at the Shriners before withdrawing on the 36th hole after entering the water with his approach. At the time he needed an eagle to make the cut. Not far off the mark for sure and if he tees it up this week we can safely assume it's just another one of those withdrawals that are common place in a season with Perez. He finished last season off with four top 20s in his last 7 events with his season ending at the Northern Trust. Perez travels well with wins outside of the States in Mexico and Kuala Lumpur courtesy of the OHL and CIMB. When his game clicks he can win good field events and there's no doubt his results lately don't quite give the full story as to how he is playing. A risky one no doubt given his injury concerns but at triple figures one worth the gamble.
0.75pt each-way P.Perez 100/1 (1/5 6)
