19th Hole

Vincenzi’s ZOZO Championship betting preview: Former Masters champ set for big week in Tokyo

Published

3 years ago

Oct 16, 2023

The PGA TOUR will head to Japan this week for just the fourth time in history to play the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP at Narashino Country Club. The event was played at the course in 2019 but had to move to Las Vegas in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to Narashino in 2021 and 2022.

Narashino Country Club is a par 70 measuring 7,079 yards and features Bentgrass greens. The course has a unique design with five par 3s and three par 5s.

The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is a no-cut event that features 78 golfers that includes 60 available PGA TOUR players from the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup Points list, nine special exemptions and nine Japan Golf Tour players. 16 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will be in attendance including Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Min Woo Lee, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler.

Past Winners at Narashino Country Club

2022: Keegan Bradley (-15)
2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-15)
2019: Tiger Woods (-19)

Let’s take a look at several key metrics for Narashino Country Club to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club isn’t a very long course. It is a positional track and finding the right spots to land the golf ball will create birdie opportunities. With the three winners at the course being Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley, it’s quite clear that accuracy with the irons will be crucial this week.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach in past 24 rounds:

Sam Ryder (+24.8)
Hideki Matsuyama (+23.2)
Xander Schauffele (+21.4)
Collin Morikawa (+19.9)
Eric Cole (+18.3)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is a tree-lined golf course that is pretty tight off the tee. In 2019, we saw Tiger Woods win the event by keeping the ball in the fairway and intelligently plotting along the golf course.

In 2021 and 2022, hitting fairways was extremely difficult over the weekend. The course can’t be overpowered, and good drivers of the golf ball should have the advantage.

However, long hitters have also fared well at the course. I believe a well rounded off the tee game is required this week.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee in past 24 rounds:

M.J. Daffue (+22.1)
Garrick Higgo (+18.0)
Kevin Yu (+17.9)
Tyler Duncan (+17.8)
Min Woo Lee (+17.1)

SG: Putting (Bentgrass)

An interesting aspect of the course is its double greens. The course has two greens on each hole to enable golfers to use the course year-round as different seasons require different grass types.

The green complexes themselves are quite tricky, and good Bentgrass putters should have an advantage.

SG: Putting (Bentgrass) past 24 rounds:

Maverick McNealy (+21.4)
Eric Cole (+18.9)
Dylan Wu (+18.1)
Justin Lower (+17.7)
Keegan Bradley (+16.7)

Strokes Gained: Par 3

With five par 3s on the course, it is even more important than usual for golfers to play them efficiently.

Total SG: Par 3 in past 24 rounds:

Eric Cole (+22.0)
Mark Hubbard (+14.5)
Andrew Putnam (+11.2)
Keegan Bradley (+11.2)
Carson Young (+9.7)

Greens in Regulation: Gained

Narashino Country Club can play very difficult. Hitting greens in regulation will be incredibly beneficial, and in 2021 Matsuyama did so consistently. He gained 15 strokes on the field in the category, which was six strokes better than the next best. Last year, Bradley gained 6.3 strokes.

Greens In Regulation: Gained in past 24 rounds:

Collin Morikawa (+30.9)
Andrew Putnam (+26.0)
Sam Ryder (+24.3)
Martin Laird (+23.8)
Luke List (+23.7)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG:APP (28%) Good Drives Gained: (23%), Greens in Regulation: Gained (20%), SG: Par 3 (14.5%), SG: Putting (Bentgrass) (14.5%).

Collin Morikawa (+1100)
Xander Schauffele (+700)
Callum Tarren (+7500)
Adam Schenk (+4500)
Adam Svensson (+4500)
J.J. Spaun (+5000)
Keegan Bradley (+2500)
Hideki Matsuyama (+1800)
Vincent Norrman (+4500)
Eric Cole (+3000)

ZOZO Championship Best Bets

Sungjae Im +2000 (FanDuel)

Sungjae Im has been in Asia over the past few weeks sharpening his game. The 25-year-old avoided military service by winning a silver medal at the Asian Games a few weeks ago and followed it up with a tie for 2nd place finish at the Genesis Championship in South Korea last week. The fact that Im is acclimated to Asia over the past few weeks should give him a leg up on the players who will be coming over from America.

Sungjae has played some great golf on Zoysia fairways throughout his career. He has a runner-up finish at East Lake Golf Club which features the surface as well as 12th and 6th place finishes at TPC Southwind (St. Jude). The South Korean has also showed a fondess of Narashino CC and boasts a 3rd place finish here in 2019 to go along with a 29th last year.

He doesn’t quite have the pedigree of Schauffele and Morikawa who sit atop the odds board this week, but I believe his chances to win the event are comparable at double the price. He’s clearly in good form at the moment and this will be a good chance for Im to nab his first PGA Tour victory since 2021.

Adam Scott +2500 (BetRivers)

Adam Scott also fits the mold of a player who’s been playing in Asia recently and is acclimated to the conditions. Scott played in last week’s Japan Open, shooting 73-73 and missing the cut on the number on an incredibly difficult golf course. He took the bullet train to Tokyo last night and should be ready to go for the ZOZO Championship.

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Throughout his career, the Australian has been a global golfer, winning all over the world. He’s won in Qatar, Beijing, China and in Singapore (by seven strokes) so he should have no problem playing well in Tokyo this week. Scott is an experienced golfer who knows how to manage a fairly difficult golf course similar to the three previous winners at the course.

Scott didn’t have his best season in 2023, missing the FedEx Cup playoffs, but finished the season strong with a 7th place result at the Wyndham Championship. He’ll have a chance to start his new season with a bang at Narashino CC.

Cameron Champ +8000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is the type of player that shows form before winning. Before his most recent victory at the 2021 3M Open, he finished 11th the week prior at the John Deere Classic. Before his win at the Fortinet Championship in 2019, he finished 28th the week prior at the Sanderson Farms Championship, gaining 6.8 strokes off the tee. Similarly, he gained 6.4 strokes off the tee at the Fortinet in 2018 before winning the Sanderson Farms Championship the following week.

In his last two starts, Champ has finished 9th and 18th, which I believe is foreshadowing another victory in the near future.

TPC Summerlin is a course that typically favors accuracy over distance, but the 28-year-old managed to hang around anyway after a torrid start. Although Narashino CC is tight off the tee, bombers have fared very well at the course and driving distance has proven to be important statistically.

Champ had some success at the course last year when he finished 8th, only four shots behind the winner Keegan Bradley. He got into contention by shooting four rounds in the 60’s (including a Saturday 64) despite being in horrific form at the time. Cam missed the cut in three starts before the ZOZO as well as the three starts after.

There are some elite players at the top of the betting board this week, but at long odds, Champ has proven to be a prolific winner and someone I trust to finish strong if he finds himself in the mix on Sunday.

Keita Nakajima +12o00 (FanDuel)

Keita Nakajima turned professional last October, but prior to that, his 87 total weeks as the No. 1-ranked men’s amateur golfer in the world set a record, topping Jon Rahm’s former 60-week cumulative reign. After Nakajima turned pro, he was replaced by Ludvig Aberg atop the WAGR, and we’ve seen how quickly he’s developed into one of the world’s best young players.

Nakajima has a fantastic golf pedigree, but he’s also been playing great golf in Asia over the past few months. He has three top-8 finishes in his last four starts, as well as a win at the Yokohama Minato Championship back in August.

The 23-year-old from Japan has also had success at Narashino CC. He finished in a tie for 12th last year thanks to a ridiculous second round 63 and finished in a tie for 28th in 2021 when he teed it up as an amateur in a very strong field.

At long odds, it’s worth taking a shot on a player who could turn out to be the best Japanese golfer since Hideki Matsuyama on a course he will be comfortable on.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”