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Horse Racing ZOZO Championship Tip: 41.00 Pick For This Weekend’s Action
ZOZO Championship Tip: Thursday, October 19th
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is once again the host course for the ZOZO Championship. We have analysed the betting markets to bring you our ZOZO Championship tip.
In this article:
ZOZO Championship Overview
Wednesday, 18th October, 23:00 (UK)
The PGA Tour moves to Asia this week as Japan plays host to the ZOZO Championship. A 78 man field will assemble at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club for the fourth time, having previously hosted in 2022, 2021 and 2019.
Just as they have in previous years, the players will play a composite course from the 36 holes available at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. A parkland layout means that errant drives are punishable with plenty of trees dotted around the course. Five par three holes and three par fives makes for a par of 70, the course tipping out at 7,079 yards.
The winning score in each of the last two years has been fifteen under par and a similar score is expected once again. Tiger Woods won with a score of nineteen under par when winning in 2019 but with the wind set to blow almost 20 miles per hour on Friday, scoring looks unlikely to get to that level. Conditions look favourable aside from round two.
There is no cut this week, all 78 players will play four rounds. Despite forming part of the PGA Tour’s fall calendar, sixteen of the world’s top 50 have made the trip to Japan. Previous winners of this event have all been inside the world’s top 50, so those elite players who have made the trip shouldn’t be discounted.
One final point to note, with the tournament being played in Japan, all pre-tournament bets must be placed by 11pm on Wednesday evening.
ZOZO Championship Tip
Early prices of 19.00 on Sungjae Im looked terrific value given his recent form and course record. The South Korean finished 3rd on the Korean Tour last week, following on from a silver medal at the Asian Games. A third place finish here on debut in 2019 was a strong sign he can contend this week and he would have been this week’s Tip had the price held. However, those initial odds of 19.00 have gone and the 15.00 currently on offer is fair rather than exceptional.
The way to play Im may instead be in the ‘wire to wire’ market offered by bet365. Each of the three winners of this event have got off to a fast start – Tiger Woods led after the opening round in 2019, Hideki Matsutama was 2nd in 2021 and Keegan Bradley was 3rd in 2022. With a field of only 78, those players who get off to a fast start have a higher chance of hanging around the top of the leaderboard. Odds of 101.00 can be had on Im winning wire to wire with bet365. Alternatively, you can back him to lead after the first round and win at 67.00.
Cameron Champ may not be a member of the world’s top 50 but his three PGA Tour wins to date mark him out as someone who could well be in future. A recent father, he’s shown the past few weeks that his game is trending in the right direction and a trip to Japan could be just what he needs to win for the fourth time. Champ is a proven performer in Japan having finished 8th at this event last year and 8th in the 2019 Dunlop Phoenix tournament. When interviewed after round two last year, Champ stated how much he enjoys playing in Japan, something he referenced as dating back to his junior and amateur days.
Joint leader last week at the halfway stage, a disastrous third round cost him any chance of winning. However, his other three rounds were strong enough to warrant a pick this week. Champ was the worst player in the field tee to green on Saturday at the Shriners. However, he was 11th SG: Tee to Green in the final round, having been 1st and 33rd on the opening two days in that category. A proven winner with course form and strong recent form, he’s a solid play at 41.00 with Bet365 for 8 each way places.
- Selection: Cameron Champ EW (1/5 1-8)
- Best Odds: 41.00 (bet365)
- Stakes: 1/10
Odds via bet365 as at 20.55 October 16th 2023. Odds may now differ.
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