Golfbet Insider: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
11H AGO
The conclusion of last week’s opening of this space teased this week’s space as adjusting our attention to a “new array of variables for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP,” but ever since the PGA TOUR has hosted no-cut tournaments in Asia, there’s but a singular priority when reviewing the variables in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf – the time difference. So, we’re gonna keep it simple, silly.
The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be contested in Chiba, Japan, for the fourth time. Tee times in the opening round are scheduled for 8:45 a.m. local time on Thursday. Because the tournament is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone in the United States, that translates to 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, which is today. If that’s where you are, that’s your roster deadline. That’s also 4:45 p.m. on the West Coast, 3:45 p.m. in most of Alaska and 1:45 p.m. in Hawaii. Adjust accordingly, which is to say that if your routine isn’t to lock your picks until first thing on a Thursday morning, that’d be way too late this week.
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP preview
With that established, plan for the push. Roster management applies essentially zero pressure in Segment 1 and many of the notables are making their FedExCup Fall debuts. So, if your angle is to be a contrarian and invest in not-“insert notable name(s) here” to play well, then at least you have the promise of four rounds at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club going for you, which is nice.
The thing is, assuming you don’t get too wild with a roster of, say, six relative unknowns, it’ll be a default push until FedExCup bonus points are applied, anyway. So, come Sunday (or Saturday night, as it were), you’ll have needed your reaches to deliver.
It’s a fine way to have fun, which always is the idea, but there’s no virtue in it because there’s no cut. Accept the smarter play, and then get back after it in the last three stops of Segment 1. Each will consist of a full field and standard 36-hole cut.
Meanwhile, since the conclusion of the Shriners Children’s Open, Qualifiers has been updated to include all golfers exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship in 2024. The remaining qualifying criteria for the PGA TOUR’s flagship tournament also has been added to its customary location beneath the alphabetical list of all qualifiers.
Elsewhere, Eric Cole is full steam ahead and with an open road en route to the Rookie of the Year award. At this point, it might require multiple victories by another rookie in the last four tournaments of 2023 for voters to pause, and even then, it might depend on who that rookie would be. Short of that, Cole’s candidacy gets stronger every time he pegs it, but one thing is for certain, and it concerns the newest member of the PGA TOUR.
Eric Cole’s interview after Round 4 of Shriners Children's Open
The next tee ball that Ludvig Åberg strikes officially will make him a rookie.
The first valedictorian of PGA TOUR University has made nine starts as a member, so his rookie eligibility relies on him totaling 10 as a member or finishing inside the top 125 of the FedExCup, whichever occurs first. At 96th, he’s a virtual lock for the latter, but he likely won’t be waiting that long because he’s planning on pegging it at the World Wide Technology Championship on Nov. 2-5. Assuming he does, I will be adding him to my Rookie Ranking on X. You can review the latest version of that here. It’s a season-long thread, so you can navigate its entirety for a snapshot of the entire class throughout the 2022-23 season.
Keita Nakajima (+500 = Top 10) … At some point, just like his primary inspiration, Hideki Matsuyama, the 23-year-old is going to contend in earnest if not win on the PGA TOUR. He’s the only two-time Mark H. McCormack Medal winner and he’s a three-time champion on his native Japan Golf Tour. He arrives for his third consecutive appearance at Narashino, where he finished T12 last year, with a pair of victories and another five podium finishes among 13 top 10s this year. He’s nipping at Takumi Kanaya’s heels for the top spot on the circuit’s money list and Nakajima ranks highly across the board in the stats that populate the back of his trading card.
Odds were sourced on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 5:15 a.m. ET. For live odds, visit BetMGM.
NOTE: These are notables who are not included in my Power Rankings or Sleepers. Connect with me on Twitter if you want analysis, insight and opinion for anyone else.
Nicolai Højgaard (+140 = Top 20) … It’s not easy to determine where to go with the 22-year-old Dane, so you might as well default into plus-value at a fraction of a unit. No question that he presents limitless promise, but he’s been embroiled in a prizefight with the learning curve. With his non-member equivalent of FedExCup points, he’d slot 111th among members. That’s fairly safe with four tournaments remaining, but especially since he’s guaranteed to pad his total and cement a spot in the non-member top 125 category for 2024. Not that he needs the confidence boost but it never hurts.
Adam Scott (+100 = Top 20) … Eh. It’s even money for this finish for a former fantasy cornerstone who didn’t crack the Power Rankings. Nothing sexy about that but he’s never slumped and half of his last 12 starts worldwide went for a top 20. It’s tough to say where he fits best in any gaming format, though. Certainly, he’s a medium-reward ride for a top 10 in betting considerations, and he can be useful in the middle of season-long fantasy rosters in which you can surround him with busier charges, but the 43-year-old Aussie also presents as a player for whom you’d break even in the long haul. Or maybe that’s just this prop convincing me of it. Whatever the case, his knack to stick to a selective schedule intensifies his potential punch.
Cam Davis (+350 = Group B lowest score: 72 holes) [others in the group: +300=Min Woo Lee; +300=Sahith Theegala; +375=Keegan Bradley; +450=Adam Scott]
Shugo Imahira (+160 = Top 40)
Takumi Kanaya (+200 = Top 20)
David Lipsky (+110 = Top 40)
Matt NeSmith (+240 = Top 20)
Hideki Matsuyama … Falls into the category of you’re going to do what you’re going to do no matter my insight, and that’s always cool, but my advice is merely to consider assigning his portion of your unit outlay elsewhere. For one, he’s flat across the board. Even if you consider him to be lowest among the 14 in the Japanese contingent, he’s just +165. And while he delivered on that at Narashino in 2019 (2nd) and 2021 (win), five of his fellow countrymen bettered him here last year. Of course, there’s also the reason why you’re reading him in this section. This is his first live action since discomfort in his – checks notes in the litany of maladies over the years – back forced him out during his second round of the BMW Championship. While it’s been two months to recover and recharge, he’s the rustiest in the field.
Patrick Rodgers ... He wasn’t in the field for long and his decision occurred not long after he withdrew at the turn in his second round at TPC Summerlin. An explanation wasn’t released. He was 2-over through nine holes and 5-over for the tournament. The good news is that he’s eligible for all eight Signature Events in 2024 for finishing inside the top 50 of the FedExCup. (The full list can be found using the link to Qualifiers at the top.) The other news is that he’s still in pursuit of his first PGA TOUR victory after 248 starts as a professional.
POWER RANKINGS
Power Ranking/Golfer = Result
1 Si Woo Kim = MC
2 Tom Kim = win
3 J.T. Poston = T3
4 Davis = T7
5 Tom Hoge = MC
6 Åberg = T13
7 Adam Schenk = MC
8 Mark Hubbard = MC
9 Andrew Putnam = MC
10 J.J. Spaun = T46
11 Adam Hadwin = 2nd
12 Højgaard = T56
13 Vincent Norrman = MC
14 Troy Merritt = T64
15 Harry Hall = T26
* - For the recommendations below, an asterisk represents a bet that won.
SLEEPERS
Golfer (recommended bet) = Result
*Chesson Hadley (+110 = Top 40) = T7
*Taylor Montgomery (+110 = Top 40) = T35
Aaron Rai (+175 = Top 20) = T28
Chad Ramey (+320 = Top 20) = T46
Erik van Rooyen (+350 = Top 20) = T23
GOLFBET INSIDER
Bet = Result
*WILD CARD: Luke List (+200 = Top 20) = T18
ALSO STARRING: Ben Griffin (+188 = Top 20) = MC
*ALSO STARRING: Akshay Bhatia (+110 = Top 40) = T35
ALSO STARRING: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+188 = Top 20) = T56
ALSO STARRING: Lexi Thompson (+900 = Make the Cut) = MC
*TAP-IN: PARLAY: Bezuidenhout, List and Justin Suh (+200 = All to make the cut) = T56/T18/T56
TAP-IN: Hall (+600 = Top Brit and Irish) = T26 (Callum Tarren = T23)
*TAP-IN: Kelly Kraft (+250 = Top 40) = T23
TAP-IN: Martin Laird (+120 = Top 40) = MC
TAP-IN: NeSmith (+240 = Top 20) = T42
*TAP-IN: Adam Svensson (+175 = Top 20) = T18
TAP-IN: Davis Thompson (+175 = Top 20) = T35
*TAP-IN: van Rooyen (+400 = Top South African) = T23
TAP-IN: Dylan Wu (+115 = Top 40) = MC
TAP-IN: Kevin Yu (+130 = Top 40) = MC
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Rob Bolton is a Golfbet columnist for the PGA TOUR. The Chicagoland native has been playing fantasy golf since 1994, so he was just waiting for the Internet to catch up with him. Follow Rob Bolton on
