PGA DFS Core Plays: ZOZO Championship
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various salary ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
Welcome back. We have a fun event on tap this week, but before we get to the course breakdown, let’s talk about the Shriners. Andrew Putnam decided to end my week early by shooting 6-over par on Thursday. I promptly entered the showdown streets and didn’t have much success there either. I was hoping to carry some of the momentum I had at the Sanderson over, but that’s not always how DFS works. I’ll look to get back on track this week at the ZOZO Championship.
This event is one of my favorites for a few reasons. It’s that time of year when it is starting to get cold and starting to get dark earlier and earlier (at least in Utah). There are few things better than watching primetime golf on a beautiful course that’s halfway across the world. I also like the fact that this event provides one of the best fields of the fall swing. And finally, this is where Tiger Woods picked up a win in 2019 after bogeying the first three holes.
Noto’s PGA Model Download & Video for the ZOZO Championship
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is located just outside of Tokyo in Japan. It is a Par 70 that measures 7,079 yards. If you like courses with character, this one has it in spades. There are two greens on a number of the holes, and the event will utilize both during tournament play. The Par 70 layout isn’t traditional, as there are five par three and three par fives. This leaves only 10 par fours on the scorecard and none of them measure between 426 and 485 yards.
While we don’t have any strokes gained data to work with from this course, the event has been held here three times (2019, 2021, and 2022). The difficulty in those three years has varied quite a bit and it played on the easier side last year (30th in difficulty). There are six dog legs on the course and a number of shorter par fours, which could help explain why the average driving distance here is only 287 yards. The fairways are difficult to hit and the greens are quite small on average.
To me, this screams total driving, strokes gained approach, strokes gained around the green, and strokes gained putting. If you like putting splits, these are pure bentgrass greens. As always, I have those metrics in my model if you want to download it for yourself or watch the field breakdown video. My final note is that this is a no-cut event, so many will talk themselves into riskier lineup builds. Personally, I like the balanced approach, as four rounds from a bad golfer can really sink lineups.
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Core Plays for the ZOZO Championship
Field Size:
- 78 golfers
Cut Rule:
- No cut this week
Weather Forecasts
Golf Course
- Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club
- Location: Just outside of Tokyo, Japan
- Par 70 — 7,079 yards
- Difficulty the last three editions: 30th, 11th, 15th
- Grass type: fairways and rough are zoysia, greens are bentgrass
- Water is in play on four holes
- 2022 averages: distance (287 yards), accuracy (57%), GIR (69%)
Event Notes
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