The second edition of the ZOZO Championship gets a new venue and the most galvanizing figure in the game. COVID forced the tournament to move from Japan and instead will be played at Sherwood Country Club in Southern California. Defending champion Tiger Woods was going to tee it up anyway and the move sweetened the deal. Nobody knows the Sherwood layout better than Tiger since he dominated his Hero World Challenge there. Woods is still searching for his record 83rd PGA Tour victory and is part of a small but talented field consisting of 78 golfers. Like last week there is no cut with the best golfers in the world offering up some tantalizing matchups. Be sure to visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
ZOZO Championship Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Abraham Ancer -200 vs. Phil Mickelson +160
Alex Noren +115 vs. Adam Hadwin -150
Brian Harman -115 vs. Sebastian Munoz -115
Billy Horschel -125 vs. Cameron Smith -105
Brendon Todd -120 vs. Brian Harman -110
Cameron Champ +105 vs. Kevin Streelman -135
Collin Morikawa -120 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -110
Collin Morikawa -130 vs. Tony Finau +100
Collin Morikawa -115 vs. Webb Simpson -115
Cameron Smith +115 vs. Paul Casey -150
Daniel Berger -120 vs. Harris English -110
Harris English -115 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick-115
Jason Day +105 vs. Rickie Fowler -135
Jason Kokrak +110 vs. Sungjae Im -140
Jon Rahm -130 vs. Justin Thomas +100
Jon Rahm -130 vs. Rory McIlroy +100
Jon Rahm -133 vs. Xander Schauffele +110
Hideki Matsuyama -110 vs. Patrick Cantlay -110
Tiger Woods -110 vs. Joaquin Niemann -110
Matthew Wolff -110 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick -110
Scottie Scheffler -110 vs. Sungjae Im -110
Adam Scott -110 vs. Abraham Ancer -110
Rickie Fowler -110 vs. Cameron Smith -110
Jordan Spieth -110 vs. Phil Mickelson -110
Matt Kuchar -110 vs. Justin Rose -110
Ryan Palmer -110 vs. Corey Conners -110
Justin Thomas -118 vs. Rory McIlroy -105
Webb Simpson -133 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +110
Patrick Reed -150 vs. Daniel Berger +115
Viktor Hovland -125 vs. Harris English +105
Bubba Watson -150 vs. Jason Kokrak +125
Billy Horschel -110 vs. Brendon Todd -110
Need to Know
For those who participated in the Hero World Challenge the Sherwood Country Club layout will look familiar. For others it’s a brand new lot to contend with. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course won’t overwhelm players with length since it stretches to 7,073 yards at par 72, but it will provide a stiff and different test than what players saw the previous two weeks in Las Vegas. One different design characteristic is the five par-5 holes with three of them playing at less than 540 yards. Birdie chances are out there and the hot putters should have an edge. The greens are big and fast and primary rough is thick adding some defense to what is otherwise a favorable scoring course.
ZOZO Championship at Sherwood Matchup Picks
Joaquin Niemann -110 vs. Tiger Woods
As much as I want to back Tiger since he is ... you know Tiger, and the success he enjoyed at Sherwood during the Hero Challenge days, it’s just hard to do since he’s done nothing on Tour since a top-10 at the Farmers way back in February. He finished outside the top-35 in his last six starts with a MC at the U.S. Open. Niemann is coming off a pair of top-15s during the Vegas swing and currently has a streak of five straight top-30 finishes.
Webb Simpson -115 vs. Collin Morikawa
Like Woods but not quite on the same level, Simpson has enjoyed a fair amount of success at Sherwood with two top-7 finishes in the limited field Hero Challenge events. And Simpson is also riding a wave of form following a T8 at the U.S. Open and a T13 at the Shriners. He took last week off to recharge hoping the break doesn’t interfere with his excellent putting and adjusted scoring numbers.
Harris English -110 vs. Daniel Berger
English has been consistently good for some time that you almost expect him to break out and win a tournament. That hasn’t happened since 2014 so you know he’s getting antsy. As long as he continues his solid ball-striking and putting the results will follow. What I liked most about last week’s effort was his ability to overcome an opening 75 to go 69 or better to claim his second top-10 of the season. It was his third top-10 among nine top-25s over his last 11 starts. It also showed that the no-cut field has its advantages.
Xander Schauffele +110 vs. Jon Rahm
As long as he doesn’t get too consumed by the near-misses, Schauffele should continue to place among the leaders, which is a reason why I’m backing him this week. Going back to the start of last season the X-man has four runner-up finishes, two of which resulted after a playoff loss. He’s also coming off a solo second at Shadow Creek, playing a new course at 18-under. This could be a breakout venue for Rahm, who’s struggled with consistency, but I’ll have to go with the more consistent player.
Rory McIlroy -105 vs. Justin Thomas
McIlroy is starting the regain the form that catapulted him to the top of world rankings earlier this year. He still needs to work out the kinks ahead of The Masters and a series of late miscues denied him a better showing at Shadow Creek. Still, a T21 in Vegas was Rory’s fourth straight top-25 putting him on the fast track for better things.
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