Zozo Championship: Sleeper Picks to Contend for the Win

The PGA Tour heads to Japan this week for the Zozo Championship.

It will be the first time the PGA Tour has played a tour event in Japan. The Zozo Championship was announced last fall and is taking the place of the CIMB Classic.

I wasn’t able to get my picks out in time last week. By the time I was ready to post them, I realized that with the time change, a few of the golfers I had chosen were already out on the course. So let’s go back to the Houston Open and see how those picks looked.

• Kevin Chappell – MC (74-72)
• Andrew Landry – MC (74-72)
• Brendan Steele – MC (76-73)
• Doc Redman – T-13th (-9) – A strong weekend with two eagles, seven birdies, and three bogeys got Redman up to T-13th.
• Matt Every – T-28th (-5) – Every played very consistently, shooting 70-72-70-71 in what would be his last tournament for a while

With a lot of strong talent in Japan this week, there are some solid and talented golfers that qualify as sleepers for the Zozo Championship. We are setting the line at 45/1, meaning that 22 golfers don’t qualify. Sorry, Niemann, Leishman, and Oosthuizen. Thanks to the action network for providing the odds for this week.

Let’s get to it.

Adam Hadwin – 50/1

Adam Hadwin has been on fire this year, and looks to bring that to the Zozo Championship in Japan. He has played in two events so far. He finished in 2nd place at the Safeway Open and followed it up by finishing T-4th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He has been scoring well and consistently so far. 68-70-67-67-67-66-68-63. Not a bad start at all. I like him to continue the top five streak and make noise come the final round.

Corey Conners – 55/1

I’m starting off the list with two Canadians, adding Corey Conners to the Adam Hadwin pick. Conners is coming off a T-13th and a T-12th finish in his last two events. He was one of the more skewed players in SG last year, making his performances bounce around a lot.

He finished last season 6th and 9th in SG off the tee and on approach shots, respectively. On the flip side, he was 139th around the green and 181st putting. If Conners can bring his around the green game and putting stroke to around PGA Tour average, he is going to become a consistent player on leaderboards throughout the season.

Kevin Kisner – 63/1

This is going to be Kisner’s first event of the season, coming off his fantastic finish to the 2019 season. Kisner has made the fall trip across to Asia in the past with some good results. I like him coming off of rest to the Zozo Championship and making noise this weekend.

Ian Poulter – 72/1

Poulter played last week at the CJ Cup, where he performed quite nicely. 69-72-66-71 was enough to get him to T-16th place. As one of the more veteran players in this event, I think that playing in a new location and on a new course is going to be less of a hassle for players like Poulter. Just under 600 miles away and in the same time zone, I think Poulter will be well adjusted and ready to play the Zozo Championship, finishing in the top ten.

Jazz Janewattananond – 150/1

Easily the longest shot on the board, Jazz made himself a few fans last year with his hard to pronounce last name. Well, you would think it’s hard to pronounce, but is much like it looks. Janna-watta-na-nond. He played quite well in his trip over to the PGA Championship last year, shooting +2 and finishing T-14th. He is also coming off of two straight top-five finishes. He was 4th at the Panasonic Open Championship, and T-4th at the Top Cup Tokai Classic.

This will be an entirely different atmosphere, at least with the level of talent that will be there. Janewattananond has played plenty of golf on Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Asia Tours. I think his comfortability with playing in and around Asia will be a help for him, and he takes advantage of a rare PGA Tour entry, finishing in the top ten.

Best of luck to everyone playing the Zozo Championship this week. Remember, it starts at 7 PM Eastern Time Wednesday Night, so get ready for some more nighttime golf.