The PGA Tour heads to Japan this week with the 2022 Zozo Championship set to tee off Thursday at Narashino Country Club near Tokyo. It’s the fourth edition of the Zozo Championship. Tiger Woods won the inaugural tournament in 2019 for his most recent tour victory, and Japanese golf hero Hideki Matsuyama comes in as the defending champion. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organization, and top golfers like Keita Nakajima and Takumi Kanaya are part of the Zozo Championship 2022 field. Matsuyama had three birdies on the back nine last year before closing with an eagle to finish 15-under par, winning by five strokes. Xander Schauffle is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6. Ninth-ranked Collin Morikawa and young stars like Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im and Cameron Young also are among the notable names playing this week.
Schauffele is the 17-2 favorite in the latest 2022 Zozo Championship odds, followed closely by Im (12-1), Matsuyama (14-1) and Morikawa (14-1). Tom Kim, who won last week’s Shriners Children’s Open, is priced at 16-1, and Young (19-1) and Hovland (21-1) also are among the top contenders in the 2022 Zozo Championship field. Before making any 2022 Zozo Championship picks, be sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf insider Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour.
He takes a measured approach to his outright selections and finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on those plays, having hit Cameron Smith (22-1) at the Tournament of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship.
One of McDonald’s longshot golfers at last week’s Shriners Children’s Open was a serious threat, with Tom Hoge (60-1) leading after the first round and firing a 7-under 64 on Sunday to end up tied for fourth. The expert also faded Max Homa, one of the favorites for the week, saying he would play well but not be a serious contender. Homa tied for 20th.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 Zozo Championship field and is locking in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.
Top 2022 Zozo Championship expert picks
Shockingly, McDonald is fading Corey Conners (26-1) this week, even though the Canadian profiles as a player who should succeed here. The 30-year-old is one of the best players on tour from tee to green, as he ranked fifth in strokes gained off the tee and second in greens in regulation percentage last season. His putter has been the problem, and while it won’t be too tough of a test at Narashino, Conners has been in a funk. He missed the cut at the Fortinet Championship to open his season and went 0-4-0 for the Internationals at the Presidents Cup, so McDonald is looking elsewhere.
On the other hand, the expert looks forward to seeing how Morikawa follows his Presidents Cup performance. The 25-year-old went 2-1-0 in the United States’ victory against the Internationals at Quail Hollow. He comes off a pretty disappointing season that didn’t include a PGA Tour victory, though he did finish in the top five at the Masters and U.S. Open. Morikawa has five career tour victories, including two majors, and won the 2021 Race to Dubai as the European Tour’s No. 1 player. He was 17th on the PGA tour in scoring average last season (69.863). See who else to pick here.
How to make 2022 Zozo Championship golf picks
Before this week’s PGA Tour event in Japan, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 Zozo Championship. He is backing several massive longshots to win, including one golfer who comes in over 100-1. You can only see all of the expert’s picks at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Zozo Championship picks should you target? Which golfer priced over 100-1 could pull off a stunning victory this week? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top prop picks for the Zozo Championship 2022, all from the expert who ended last season up 42 units on outright plays.
2022 Zozo Championship odds, field, top contenders
See full Zozo Championship 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Xander Schaufele 17-2
Sungjae Im 12-1
Hideki Matsuyama 14-1
Collin Morikawa 14-1
Tom Kim 16-1
Cameron Young 19-1
Viktor Hovland 21-1
Tommy Fleetwood 26-1
Corey Conners 26-1
Tyrrell Hatton 27-1
Si Woo Kim 31-1
Saith Theegala 31-1
Davis Riley 37-1
Sebastian Munoz 37-1
Tom Hoge 37-1
Keegan Bradley 37-1
Sepp Straka 37-1
Scott Stallings 40-1
Cameron Davis 42-1
Mito Pereira 42-1
MacKenzie Hughes 42-1
Maverick McNealy 42-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 45-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 45-1
Brendan Steele 45-1
Matthew NeSmith 45-1
Lucas Herbert 45-1
Emiliano Grillo 55-1
Rickie Fowler 55-1
J.J. Spaun 55-1
Luke List 60-1
Andrew Putnam 60-1
Mark Hubbard 65-1
Aaron Rai 70-1
Hayden Buckley 70-1
Adam Svensson 80-1
Adam Schenk 80-1
Taylor Moore 80-1
Kurt Kitayama 80-1
Wyndham Clark 80-1
Cameron Champ 80-1
Stephan Jaeger 80-1
Alex Smalley 80-1
Russell Knox 95-1
Joel Damen 95-1
Dylan Frittelli 95-1
Kevin Streelman 95-1
Matt Wallace 95-1
Patrick Rodgers 95-1
Troy Merritt 100-1
Martin Laird 100-1
Kazuki Higa 110-1
Takumi Kanaya 110-1
Sam Ruder 110-1
Adam Long 110-1
C.T. Pan 120-1
Beau Hossler 120-1
Lee Hodges 120-1
Peter Malnati 140-1
Chez Reavie 140-1
Keita Nakajima 140-1
Brandon Wu 140-1
Danny Lee 160-1
David Lipsky 160-1
John Huh 160-1
Ryo Hisatsune 210-1
Chad Ramey 210-1