ZOZO Championship
Another incredible week on the PGA Tour this past week at The CJ Cup. Jason Kokrak, ultimately won The CJ Cup with scores of 70,66,68,64 respectively. What makes the week even better for Kokrak is that win was his first win on the PGA Tour. After 233 starts, Kokrak broke through and won. I love talking about first time winners because it has to be a feeling like no other. I’m sure Kokrak was on top of the world Sunday afternoon. That will be a moment that will live on with Kokrak for the rest of his life.The intensity on tour doesn't stop there, this week we are gearing up for the ZOZO Championship, and the return of Tiger Woods.
As you all remember Woods won the ZOZO Championship last year, the difference this year is he has the chance to break the all time wins record and finally dethrone the great Sam Snead. Now we’ve all been waiting for the return of Woods this season, however Wood’s game may not be where we’re expecting it to be. The last time we saw Tiger was in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot where he ultimately missed the cut. That was over 6 weeks ago, so we don’t really know what to expect from him. However we all know this is prep work for the Masters because by this point Tiger needs as many reps as he can get before Augusta. Although he won’t have as many reps as the rest of the field we can expect Tiger to play fairly well just on course knowledge and overall course confidence in regards to Augusta. As for the ZOZO expect Tiger to have a very average week, we might see a stretch of holes from Tiger that will excite us but from a consistency standpoint don’t expect much from him this week.
This week the ZOZO Championship was moved from its original site which was held in Japan last year. However due to Covid-19 the event was moved back to the states, however plans still remain that the event will head back to Japan until 2025. This year the ZOZO will be at Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles, California. This is a familiar site to the PGA Tour as it has hosted a variety of events over the years, specifically Tiger Wood’s event, The Hero World Challenge. Golf fans prepare yourselves for a treat this week. Sherwood will provide rugged terrain, as the course is surrounded by vast mountains, and rolling hills. On top of the rugged terrain, the California fall weather will provide strong winds and much cooler temps. Once you get past the conditions, players will be facing a star studded field. Fans will be able to watch Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikowa, Xander Schauffele and much more. This is going to be a fun week of golf, that's for sure. (Mike)
What Tiger Should We Expect to See?
The last time we saw Tiger he did not look like a player ready that was close to winning anytime soon on tour. He is back to defend this week and interestingly enough, even though he is the defending champion of the event he actually needed a sponsor's exemption to get in the field this week. Mike and I talk at least once a week about the prospect of Tiger winning again on tour. Will he win again? We both think so. We have learned not to doubt Tiger Woods, but many of his recent performances poise the question: “What Tiger will we see this week?”
I am hopeful we see a Tiger that looks rested, healthy and hungry. A Tiger that grinds out some scores and puts himself in position to make a move on Saturday. A Tiger that looks like he is having fun out there and not laboring too hard. I am hopeful every time Tiger tees it up that the Tiger we see will show us shades of his greatness. Unfortunately, we only see those moments few and far between now. He usually has a few hole stretches where he looks completely dialed in, but then it all falls apart and he misses the cut or barely gets into the weekend, but never really looks like a serious contender. It is hard to come to terms with that the golfer I cheer for more than any other will never be what he used to be, but he still gives us special moments, like last year at The Master’s that nobody else in golf could.
I think this week we see a relatively healthy and rested Tiger. I do not expect him to contend for the win, but this is a course that he is familiar with and has a lot of success at so I expect to see a top 25 finish. I think we will see some vintage Tiger for short periods of time, but unless he has fixed his issues with short putts he will not be a serious threat to anyone this week. Who knows how many more times we will get to see Tiger play at a rather high level so we just have to appreciate every time he tee’s it up now. (Tyler)
Pick’s of the Week:
Mike: As always readers we have made it to our picks of the week section. Last week my picks were slightly off. My winning pick, Daniel Berger finished T-28 and Tommy Fleetwood, my sleeper pick struggled to say the least. Let's hope for my success this week.
This week's winning pick goes to Xander Schauffele. Xander is a solid bet to take. He is coming off incredible play from last week. He finished solo second, only two shots off of first.Xanderis going back to his home state of California, so he is familiar with the elements, the type of grass and he especially feels comfortable at home as well. This week Xander’s odds this week come in at 11-1. While he ultimately isn’t the favorite this week Xander is a great guy to bet on.
Our sleeper of the week goes to Matthew Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has only played in two PGA Tour events this year The U.S. Open where he missed the cut the cut, and The CJ Cup where he came in T-12. As of late we have seen glimpses of greatness from him, however his consistency is troubling. Fitzpatrick had a chance to really contend and win at The CJ Cup, but a string of bogeys and sloppy play deterred him. Nevertheless this kids got game. Fitzpatrick’s odds this week come in at 33-1. Now take those odds as you will, but watch out when this kid gets hot he cant be stopped. (Mike)
Tyler: Last week, my picks were Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler. Neither pick did much of anything at The CJ cup with Rose finishing at T-52 and Rickie finishing with at T-28. Not the best week for my pick’s, but hopefully this week is a redemption week.
My pick this week is Tyrrell Hatton at 20-1. I have discussed how well Tyrrell has been playing since the restart, but it really is incredible how well he has been playing on the PGA Tour as well as The European Tour. Coming off a strong finish last week with a tie for third his game is clearly in the right spot. Getting a top 10 player in the world at 20-1 odds is something I like a lot. I expect to see Tyrrell Hatton continue his good play and be right there in contention come Sunday.
My sleeper pick is Scottie Scheffler at 40-1. Scottie really finished last season on fire and I expect him to have another strong showing this year. He has a great golf swing and when he is firing on all cylinders it sure is fun to watch. The tour has seen such an influx of young talent the last few years and Scottie is just another great one in the making. I think Scottie’s putter helps him just enough this week to be right there come Sunday afternoon. (Tyler)