This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
Chiba, Japan
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club - Par 70 - 7,079 yards
Field - 78 entrants
Purse - $8.5M
The Preview
The PGA Tour makes the voyage from Las Vegas to Japan as Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club plays host to the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP for the fourth time since the event's inception in 2019, but for the first time as a FedExCup Fall affair.
Although the par-70 layout measures less than 7,100 yards, tree-lined fairways and a handful of doglegs make the course play a bit longer than it looks on paper, especially when you factor in the strengthening breeze that's slated to arrive throughout Round 2 on Friday. Scoring is likely to be significantly more difficult here than we saw at TPC Summerlin last week, but with 72 guaranteed holes for all 78 entrants, birdie and eagle chances are going to be especially important from a DFS perspective. Iron play is typically the name of the game at Narashino as the limited field makes an effort to select the best angles into small bentgrass greens, in addition to the five par-3s that lurk on the scorecard.
Recent Champions
2022 - Keegan Bradley
2021 - Hideki Matsuyama
2020 - Patrick Cantlay (Sherwood CC)
2019 - Tiger Woods
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
SG: Off-the-Tee
Par-3 Efficiency
Birdie or Better Percentage
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Xander Schauffele - $45
At just 7-1 in the outright betting market, a $45 Yahoo salary on the field's lone representative from the top-15 in the OWGR is no hindrance to overall lineup construction. It's also a home game of sorts for Schauffele, who won an Olympic gold medal two years ago in Japan where his mother was raised. He most recently won his Sunday Singles match 3&2 over Nicolai Hojgaard at the Ryder Cup, and Schauffele is second to none in proximity from 150-175 yards over his last 50 measured rounds.
Collin Morikawa - $42
Another Ryder Cupper with Japanese heritage who'll be making his first appearance of the FedExCup Fall this week, Morikawa's fairways-and-greens game sets him up quite well for Accordia Narashino CC. Sampling his last 24 rounds of the 2022-23 season, he's No. 1 in both proximity and SG: Tee-to-Green, but Morikawa also hasn't lost strokes off the tee in a single event since the Wells Fargo Championship in early May.
Glue Guys
Eric Cole - $31
Cole has been an easy cash-game lock for months now with 13 consecutive cuts made, but he's recently flashed even more upside with a pair of top-4 finishes at the Fortinet Championship and the Shriners Children's Open. He fired a final-round 62 this past Sunday in Las Vegas, where he led the field in SG: Tee-to-Green on the way to 27 total par-breakers throughout the week. Over his last 24 rounds, Cole ranks first in Birdies or Better Gained as well as Par-3 Efficiency.
Min Woo Lee - $28
Speaking of birdies, Lee reached the 30-under-par mark en route to a dominant victory at the Asian Tour's SJM Macao Open last week, carding rounds of 62-64-65-63 in China. The Aussie pounds the ball off the tee, but that doesn't mean a delicate short-game feel evades him as he's also No. 1 in SG: Around-the-Green and second in SG: Putting over his last 24 measured rounds. The $28 salary is a misprice as he probably belongs in the $35-$37 range, so expect inflated ownership on Lee shares in this spot.
Bargain Bin
Alex Noren - $24
Noren posted one of the best SG: Approach performances of his entire career last week when he gained 5.5 strokes with his irons at the Shriners Children's Open, ultimately tying for third after tallying just four total bogeys across 72 holes in Vegas. Taking an overview of his last 50 rounds, Noren is second in SG: Around-the-Green, seventh in SG: Putting and 10th in Par-3 Efficiency.
Cameron Champ - $20
Champ broke out of his slump with back-to-back top-20s at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Shriners Children's Open, and he's quietly gained strokes on his approaches in seven straight starts dating back to the Travelers Championship. He produced an eighth-place finish here in Japan last year when he ranked T2 among the field in par-5 scoring, and his length should allow for a couple more legitimate eagle opportunities again this week at Narashino CC.
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