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2021 Zozo Championship: Return to Japan Hurts This Week’s Event

By Tim Letcher

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan reacts after his birdie on the seventh hole green during the third round of the PGA Zozo Championship golf tournament at the Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba prefecture on October 27, 2019. (Photo by Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP) (Photo by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan reacts after his birdie on the seventh hole green during the third round of the PGA Zozo Championship golf tournament at the Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba prefecture on October 27, 2019. (Photo by Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP) (Photo by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The Zozo Championship takes place this week on the PGA Tour but the event will be without the fanfare that it has had in recent memory. The reasons are simple.

The biggest factor going against the tournament this week is that it returns to its native Japan after being played in the United States last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the event was played at Sherwood Country Club in California and the field was a who’s who in the current world of golf.

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Just take a look at the Top 10 from last year’s event. Patrick Cantlay, who would go on to win the FedEx Cup, was the winner. Current world number one Jon Rahm finished second, tied with Justin Thomas. You really don’t have to go any further to see that the Zozo field from last year was stacked.

Now, the tournament heads back to Narashino Country Club in Japan but the loaded field did not make the trip back. There’s no Cantlay, no Rahm and no Thomas. And most of the other players ranked highly in the world rankings are also electing to pass on this week’s event.

Sure, there are excellent players in this week’s field.

Collin Morikawa, currently ranked third in the world, is the top player in this week’s field. Xander Schauffele, who is ranked fifth in the world, will be playing as well. The only other player in the current Official World Golf Ranking Top 20 in this week’s field is Japan’s own Hideki Matsuyama.

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Two years ago, when this event was last in Japan, tournament organizers got to see Tiger Woods tie the PGA Tour’s all-time record for wins with his victory here. There will be no Tiger this week, either, as he continues to rehab an injury sustained in a car accident.

With no Tiger and very few of the world’s best players participating this week, the 2021 Zozo Championship will not have the impact that it has had the last two seasons.

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