Favorite Xander Schauffele, second choice Collin Morikawa, and third choices Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama head to Japan this week for the 2023 ZOZO Championship. Matsuyama won the 2021 PGA ZOZO while Keegan Bradley took the trophy home in 2022. Heading into Wednesday night’s tee off, Schauffele will step onto the Accordia Golf Narashino course the solid +700 chalk. Which PGA golfers made our picks list? Check out golf odds, analysis, and free picks for the 2023 ZOZO Championship.

2023 ZOZO Championship Event Info

Expert picks for this week's @ZOZOCHAMP ⛳️

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 18, 2023

• When: Thursday, October 19 – Sunday, October 22
• Where: Accordia Golf Narashino CC, Japan
• TV: Golf Channel
• Live Stream: GolfChannel.com
• Purse: 8,500,000

2022 PGA ZOZO Championship Recap

After hitting 66-65-66-68, Keegan Bradley took first place and beat Andrew Putnam and Rickie Fowler to win the ZOZO with a -15. Bradley beat Putnam and Fowler by a stroke.

Emiliano Grillo finished at -13. Three players finished at -12, including FedEx Cup Playoffs defending champion Viktor Hovland. Sahith Theegala and Hayden Buckley also finished at -12.

This year’s favorite, Xander Schauffele, finished at -10. Schauffele tied Tom Hoge. Both Hoge and Xander finished a stroke behind Cameron Champ in -10.

2023 ZOZO Championship Top Pick

The 2021 ZOZO titlist didn’t just win the prize that year, he dominated his competition by shooting in the 60’s in every round.

Hideki Matsuyama easily held off Cameron Tringle and Brendan Steele. He blew away the fourth place finishers by 9 strokes and then dominated the -5 finishers, which included 2022 winner Keegan Bradley, by 10.

This is Hideki’s first tournament of the 2023-2024 PGA Season. The top choice didn’t play after withdrawing from the BMW Championship this past August. For sure, Matsuyama wouldn’t step onto the course if he didn’t believe he could repeat as champ. Also, the odds make the defending titlist more than playable.

2023 ZOZO Championship Second Pick

Xander Schauffele ended the 2022-2023 season the sixth ranked golfer on the planet. During the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Xander rocked it, finishing a tied twenty-fourth at the St. Jude, stepping off the course a tied eighth at the BMW Championship, and then finished second at the TOUR.

For his TOUR efforts, Schauffele pocketed a cool $6,500,000. Since the excellent performance at the TOUR, Schauffele has sat on the bench.

Like Matsuyama, he should play great this week. But Xander offers +700 odds to Hideki’s +1400. The odds make Schauffele a tough play to put on top.

2023 ZOZO Championship Third Pick

In 2021, Collin Morikawa shot well at the ZOZO. Take away Matsuyama’s dominating performance, and Collin finishes 3 strokes off the winner. Last year, Morikawa shot a -2, which put him 13 strokes off Bradley.

But although the 26-year-old didn’t play well in this in 2022, Morikawa could be in line for a fantastic 2023 season. Morikawa finished sixth at the TOUR Championship, taking home $2,000,000. For sure, he can win this, but the odds are somewhat light, which is why he’s the third pick instead of the first.

2023 ZOZO Championship Underdog Pick

The one-hundred-twenty-fifth ranked player in the world, Takumi Kanaya shot a -1 at last year’s ZOZO Championship. If we go off last year’s performance, for sure, Kanaya is a longshot to win.

But if we go off to the 2021 tournament, Kanaya is worth a look. Takumi shot a -5. If he can improve off the performance, he can challenge. Kanaya has home course advantage. So you should consider backing if you like to play underdogs.

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