PGA DFS Core Plays: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
Top-ranked grinder, Notorious, breaks down his favorite daily fantasy golf plays at various salary ranges for the coming week’s golf tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
Even though I had no money at stake, I was really rooting for Rickie Fowler to win last week. He had the lead entering Sunday and got off to a hot start. Unfortunately, he had to take a penalty on the first par five after a great drive. From there, the putter was ice cold the rest of the round. We nearly saw an incredible comeback from Collin Morikawa, as he shot 10-under par on Sunday and even closed with an eagle on the 18th hole. Rory McIlroy poured in an eagle of his own on the other par five (right before Morikawa made his) and was able to put it in cruise control down the stretch. Golf is always in a better place when Rory is winning golf tournaments.
This week we head to Japan for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. This event was held in American last year due to COVID, but will be back in Japan this year. Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is located just outside of Tokyo. This course has fond memories for me, as Tiger Woods won here in 2019 despite bogeying the first three holes of the tournament. On the scorecard, the course is a Par 70 that measures right around 7,000 yards. This isn’t your standard Par 70 though, as it features three par fives and five par threes. The fairways here are tree-lined and there are quite a few dog legs on the course. There are two greens on each hole, but no, golfers can’t decide which green to attack.
This is based on a very small sample size, but driving distance played a big role at Accordia in 2019. This could be due to the fact that the fairways were tough to hit for everyone (55% on average). Despite an abundance of approach shots coming from the rough, the greens were fairly easy to hit (68% on average). This is a high number, especially on a Par 70 course. Based strictly on the skillset needed here in 2019, DataGolf comped this course to the likes of TPC Harding Park, Torrey Pines, and Whistling Straits. These are three of the most bomber-friendly courses on the PGA Tour. Again, the data could be skewed because we are working with such a small sample size, but I’m leaning into the bomber narrative a bit this week.