The PGA Tour takes on Japan! The ZOZO Championship is a premier fall series event bringing some big guns across the Pacific. Among those competing this weekend are Colin Morikawa, Xander Shauffele, and, the pride of Japan, Hideki Matsuyama. Will Japan’s own please the home crowd or will an American upset the fans and take the win on Sunday? Online bookmaker bet365 has the odds.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 12th, 5:00 A.M. (EST)
Presidents Cup stud, Xander Shauffele, is the favourite at 9.00. Shauffele is a stone-faced killer. He doesn’t seem to fluctuate much when the going gets tough or when he is riding a hot hand. This bodes well for closing the deal down the stretch when playing for millions of dollars.
This steadiness could help explain why Xander won three times this year. Though not the best value pick per se, it is hard to look past Xander to be in the mix this week. He is just too good at every aspect of the game to not contend if he is in relatively good form, which he appears to be based off his Presidents Cup performance.
The name that pops off the list more than anyone is Cameron Young. At 17.00 and sitting behind Tom Kim and Hideki Matsuyama, the young stud seems undervalued here. Though win-less on the PGA tour, Young placed inside the top three seven times last year. It is just a matter of time before Cam Young is lifting a trophy.
As Young absolutely smashes the golf ball, he is among the top five longest drivers of the ball on the planet. At just 7079 yards, it is entirely foreseeable that the young bomber out powers the course this weekend and takes the rest of the field down while he’s at it.
If you don’t like Cam Young to win this weekend – though you probably should – look for him at 7.00 to finish inside the top three, a feat that, as of late, nobody knows quite like Cam Young.
This Weeks Long-shots:
- Wyndham Clark to Finish in the Top 2 at 46.00
- Cameron Davis to Lead After Round 2 at 34.00
- Lucas Herbert to Win Outright at 56.00
Wydham Clark is long driver of the golf ball, so like Cam Young, he may be able to overpower the course this weekend. What is needed from Clark is iron play and accuracy off the tee. If he has a good week in those two categories, he can surely contend.
Cameron Davis is frankly an underrated player, the OGWR has him at 64th in the world, but with four top ten finishes last year and the way he strikes the ball, it certainly feels as though he is among the fifty best players on the planet. Cam Davis can make a lot of birdies, so look for him to get hot through the first two days and take the lead going into the weekend.
Lucas Herbert is one of the best putters on the planet, but his ball striking can at times be questionable. Herbert is one of those high variance players who misses a fair number of cuts, but also gets in the hunt at times as he did in winning last year at the Bermuda Championship. His inconsistency is reflected in his odds, but if he gets hot, he can hang with the best of them.
Playing on foreign soil provides a different test for the American players. It will be interesting to see if Hideki Matsuyama can overcome the pressures that come with playing in front of a home crowd. If he can hold off the steady Xander Shauffele and the powerful Cam Young, look for him to be standing high on the leaderboard come Sunday. Tune in this weekend to catch what is sure to be an exciting event.
