The PGA TOUR will head to Japan this week for just the second time in history to play the ZOZO Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. The event was played at the course in 2019 but had to move to Las Vegas in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is a par 70 measuring 7,041 yards and features paspalum greens. The course has a unique design with five par 3’s and three par 5’s.
The ZOZO Championship is a no-cut event and will feature 78 golfers. The field is fairly strong this week, with a handful of PGA TOUR stars making the long trip to Japan. Those golfers include Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler, Joaquin Niemann, Will Zalatoris, and Kevin Na.
For GPP contests on DraftKings. I will be breaking down the key stats (past 24 rounds) and selecting golfers from different price tiers to provide flexibility for a DFS lineup.
For large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Don’t forget about the other tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, such as the Trends tool and PGA Correlation Dashboard.
This analysis may reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots on average it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation. Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
Strokes Gained: Approach
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club isn’t a very long course. Accuracy with the irons will be crucial this week as golfers try to find the correct level of the fast and undulating greens.
- High-end target: Xander Schauffele – $11,000 (2nd SG:APP)
- Mid-range target: Keegan Bradley– $9,400 (1st SG: APP)
- Value Target: Sam Ryder – $6,700 (5th SG: APP)
Good Drives Gained
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is a tree-lined golf course that is pretty tight off the tee. Last time here, we saw Tiger Woods win the event by keeping the ball in the fairway and intelligently plotting along the golf course. The course can’t be overpowered, and good drivers of the golf ball should have the advantage.
- High-end target: Collin Morikawa – $10,100 (5th Good Drives Gained)
- Mid-range target: K.H. Lee– $8,700 (4th Good Drives Gained)
- Value Target: Kramer Hickok– $6,300 (2nd Good Drives Gained)
SG: Putting (Bentgrass)
An interesting aspect of the course is its double greens. The course has two greens on each hole to enable golfers to use the course year-round as different seasons require different grass types. The green complexes themselves are quite tricky, and good bentgrass putters should have an advantage.
- High-end target: Xander Schauffele– $10,400 (11th Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
- Mid-range target: Adam Schenk – $8,200 (4th Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
- Value Target: Troy Merritt– $6,900 (1st Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
Strokes Gained: Par 3
With five par 3s on the course, it is even more important than usual for golfers to play them efficiently.
- High-end target: Rickie Fowler– $9,800 (2nd in SG: Par 3)
- Mid-range target: Lanto Griffin– $8,300 (3rd in SG: Par 3)
- Value Target: Doc Redman– $6,300 (5th in SG: Par 3)
Birdie or Better: Gained
While I don’t anticipate the scores in Japan this week to be as low as last week in Las Vegas, I still anticipate a winner approaching the -20 range. To win the tournament, a golfer will likely need to make an excess of 25 birdies for the week.
- High-end target: Alex Noren– $9,700 (6th Birdie or Better Gained)
- Mid-range target: Erik Van Rooyen– $9,500 (2nd Birdie or Better Gained)
- Value Target: Sam Ryder– $6,700 (1st Birdie or Better Gained)
