For the first time in its 2022-23 season, the PGA Tour moves outside of the United States as the ZOZO Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, gets underway.
Hideki Matsuyama returns to defend the title that he secured in emphatic fashion last year. The Japanese native wowed his home fans with an eagle on the 72nd hole to close out a five-shot victory. The 30-year-old, who is the most successful Japanese golfer in PGA Tour history, culminated by his win at the 2021 Masters, followed that with victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii before a string of top-10 performances at the WM Phoenix Open, AT&T Byron Nelson, US Open and Tour Championship.
Olympic Gold Medallist and World No.6 Xander Schauffele is the top-ranked player in the field and will make his season debut this week. The 28-year-old enjoyed a summer of success with victories at the Travellers Championship, Scottish Open and JP McManus Pro-Am and has close ties to the host country. Nearby Tokyo was not only the scene of his Olympic success but the home of his grandparents.
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Joining Schauffele in making his season debut is World No.9 Collin Morikawa. The American is without a win since the 2021 DP World Tour Championship Dubai, the longest drought in his short yet successful career thus far. The two-time Major champion finished T7 in this event last year and is perfectly capable of bettering that this time around.
Many eyes will be fixed on the emerging talent that is Joohyung “Tom” Kim. With victory at the Shriners Children’s Open last week, the South Korean became the first player since Tiger Woods to win two PGA Tour events before turning 21. Kim, who described the emotions of his meteoric rise as like a “five-year-old at Disneyland” adorned himself to both sets of fans with a swashbuckling display at the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow.
There are 15 players inside the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking set to compete, including Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Sungjae Im and the English duo of Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy…
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