ZOZO Championship 2021

[MattyO1984]

Unlike last weeks CJ Cup, the ZOZO this year heads back Asia for the 2021 edition. The extra travel after a long season and with Covid protocols in Japan shows in the field which does not compare with what teed up last week but still has plenty of names and story lines to keep us going as we head even deeper into Autumn and the section of the season that typically sees the top names checking out for some down time. Last year’s winner Patrick Cantlay is the most notable absentee. As if to highlight the general lack of interest, the PGA Tour website for the event still shows the Course being Sherwood Country Club…great work PGA Tour 😂

 

Notables in the Field:-

Collin Morikawa

Xander Schaufelle

Sunjae Im

Hideki Matsuyama

Paul Casey

Lee Westwood

Rickie Fowler

Kevin Na

Will Zalatoris

Tommy Fleetwood

 

Course:-

Narashino Country Club

Par 72

7,224 yards

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by MattyO1984

[stinger_gc]

Should've moved this event back to California or somewhere on the West Coast again this year. Would've drawn a way stronger field 

[khalespace]

33 minutes ago, PHILsThemannnn said:

Should've moved this event back to California or somewhere on the West Coast again this year. Would've drawn a way stronger field 

I agree, at least for another year.

[stinger_gc]

2 minutes ago, khalespace said:

I agree, at least for another year.

If they didn't have the Olympics in Tokyo this year I think this event would've been in the states. 

[Christosterone]

Why do they insist on spelling it wrong…it’s spelled with an “S”

 

 

[Scotty1140]

14 minutes ago, Christosterone said:

Why do they insist on spelling it wrong…it’s spelled with an “S”

 

 

Agreed haha

[MattyO1984]

3 hours ago, Christosterone said:

Why do they insist on spelling it wrong…it’s spelled with an “S”

 

 

This post has me feeling young because I have no idea who that is 😂

[iBanesto]

Sungjae Im may be a good pick at the ZOZO.

 

Great form and experience of the Japanese Tour as well.

[bscinstnct]

5 hours ago, Scotty1140 said:

Agreed haha

 

Zep and Floyd, staples of youth.
 

Back in the day, after appropriate inducement ; ) , we’d always listen to Dark Side and I always used to literally see myself in a cartoon world when this came on. Was pretty awesome 🤣

 

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by bscinstnct

[Christosterone]

 

[tacklingdummy]

On 10/18/2021 at 8:32 AM, PHILsThemannnn said:

If they didn't have the Olympics in Tokyo this year I think this event would've been in the states. 

 

I'm not so sure. Yeah, last year they moved it to Sherwood CC because of COVID. However, ZOZO is a Japanese company and I think they really want it held in Japan and Japanese golf fans do too. I was in Tokyo in 2019 when they had the ZOZO there and Tiger Woods won. The pre-tournament buzz, events, and publicity was off the charts. I tried to go and tickets were sold out immediately. Japanese golf fans are super fans over there for this kind of stuff. 

[iBanesto]

On 10/19/2021 at 2:32 AM, PHILsThemannnn said:

If they didn't have the Olympics in Tokyo this year I think this event would've been in the states. 

 

Why wouldn't a Japanese sponsor want their event in Japan if COVID does not prevent it to be?

 

Only natural for them to have this event played in Japan if they are investing significant money into it.

[stinger_gc]

3 hours ago, iBanesto said:

 

Why wouldn't a Japanese sponsor want their event in Japan if COVID does not prevent it to be?

 

Only natural for them to have this event played in Japan if they are investing significant money into it.

In order to draw a stronger field duh! The CJ Cup had 15 of the top 20 players in the field. Had a stronger SOF then the Memorial which is probably one of the best non-major fields. The winner of the ZOZO gets 42 owgr pts (Rory got 68 pts this week). Homa got 40 pts for winning the tournament in NAPA. 

If they played this tournament in California again I can guarantee that a lot of the guys who played CJ Cup would tee it up this week. 

[rkelso184]

7 hours ago, PHILsThemannnn said:

In order to draw a stronger field duh! The CJ Cup had 15 of the top 20 players in the field. Had a stronger SOF then the Memorial which is probably one of the best non-major fields. The winner of the ZOZO gets 42 owgr pts (Rory got 68 pts this week). Homa got 40 pts for winning the tournament in NAPA. 

If they played this tournament in California again I can guarantee that a lot of the guys who played CJ Cup would tee it up this week. 

Yer but that is only a benifit to the players not the sponsor. The sponsor is a Japan company who wants to provide this amazing experience for their fans in Japan. The Japan PGA is the third highest paying series, Japan is also the home of the latest Master champion and has some crazy fans (even noted by the PGA players). As a company its in their best interest to try and please their audience where they can generate buisness, sales, etc. 

[stinger_gc]

1 minute ago, rkelso184 said:

Yer but that is only a benifit to the players not the sponsor. The sponsor is a Japan company who wants to provide this amazing experience for their fans in Japan. The Japan PGA is the third highest paying series, Japan is also the home of the latest Master champion and has some crazy fans (even noted by the PGA players). As a company its in their best interest to try and please their audience where they can generate buisness, sales, etc. 

Makes sense, but last year this tournament had a SOF of 645. This year it's 225 

[miamistomp]

 Don't know what Zozo sells but not a great company name....

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/10/the-very-strange-tale-of-zozo-the-ouija-board-demon/

[iBanesto]

23 hours ago, PHILsThemannnn said:

In order to draw a stronger field duh! The CJ Cup had 15 of the top 20 players in the field. Had a stronger SOF then the Memorial which is probably one of the best non-major fields. The winner of the ZOZO gets 42 owgr pts (Rory got 68 pts this week). Homa got 40 pts for winning the tournament in NAPA. 

If they played this tournament in California again I can guarantee that a lot of the guys who played CJ Cup would tee it up this week. 

 

I get that but we've got to remember this tournament is a joint Japanese Tour and PGA Tour event which was meant to be played in the Japan.

 

It would be irrational for the JGTO to organise an event in the US unless they couldn't due to the pandemic.

 

A Japanese company would want their potential Japanese consumers, clients, and executives to enjoy the benefits of being at the tournament. Additionally, given the time difference, the effectiveness of promoting their brand would be greater in Japan.

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by iBanesto

[QuigleyDU]

I don’t like it in Japan because it is hard to watch.. otherwise. I am fine with it. Lol

[khalespace]

3 hours ago, QuigleyDU said:

I don’t like it in Japan because it is hard to watch.. otherwise. I am fine with it. Lol

Actually if you have the Golf Channel the tournament is prime time.

[rooski]

I hope Wesley Bryan wins this, would be an awesome story.

 

This is his first tournament back after being out a long time with a bad wrist injury

[iBanesto]

7 minutes ago, rooski said:

I hope Wesley Bryan wins this, would be an awesome story.

 

This is his first tournament back after being out a long time with a bad wrist injury

 

Yeah hope he does well.

 

That wrist injury when it happened looked horrendous.

[bscinstnct]

11 minutes ago, iBanesto said:

 

Yeah hope he does well.

 

That wrist injury when it happened looked horrendous.

 

iB, where you hail from bro?

 

You been out here long as I remember and probably mentioned but remind me.

 

You very gracious so I know youre not from NY 🤣. Europe, right?

 

Anyway, you know tons about the game and tours and I enjoy your posts ; )

[TiScape]

First round coverage starts on the GC in about 30min! 

[JMoss1980]

Nighttime golf is best golf.

[iBanesto]

2 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

 

iB, where you hail from bro?

 

You been out here long as I remember and probably mentioned but remind me.

 

You very gracious so I know youre not from NY 🤣. Europe, right?

 

Anyway, you know tons about the game and tours and I enjoy your posts ; )

 

Haha...

 

If I said I was from Boston would that be believable?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

6 hours ago, QuigleyDU said:

I don’t like it in Japan because it is hard to watch.. otherwise. I am fine with it. Lol

 

I like it in Japan because it is easy to watch😊

 

The only time I can watch a PGA Tour tournament live during the day without having satellite.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

6 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I like it in Japan because it is easy to watch😊

 

The only time I can watch a PGA Tour tournament live during the day without having satellite.

I like when events are on at 5 or 6am... It's the only quiet time I seem to get these days... This is one of the most difficult to watch for me... Hard to sit down in the middle of the afternoon.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

21 minutes ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

I like when events are on at 5 or 6am... It's the only quiet time I seem to get these days... This is one of the most difficult to watch for me... Hard to sit down in the middle of the afternoon.

 

There's that, too. But I've laid claim to the TV for Saturday afternoon and Sunday. 

I'm planning to smoke a load of ribs and stuff on Saturday, so I'll have the golf on in the background.

[miamistomp]

 Might smoke some Lamb's Bread....

[MattyO1984]

Kudos to you guys that can get up early and actually watch it! I can set my alarm, get myself sorted for watching and then promptly fall asleep.