Hideki Matsuyama will try to defend a tournament title for the second time in his PGA Tour career when he tees off Thursday in the 2022 Zozo Championship. Matsuyma went on a birdie binge on the back nine last year at Narashino Country Club and eagled the final hole to finish five strokes ahead of Cameron Tringale and Brendan Steele. He last defended a PGA Tour title at the Phoenix Open in 2017. This is the third edition of the Zozo Championship at the course in the Greater Tokyo Area, with the inaugural event won by Tiger Woods in 2019. Patrick Cantlay won the 2020 Zozo Championship, when it was moved to California during the pandemic. Matsuyama capped off a huge calendar year with his first victory in Japan, winning the Zozo just over six months after his 2021 Masters victory. The Zozo Championship 2022 field also features Xander Schauffele, ranked sixth in the world, and No. 9 Collin Morikawa, along with several stars from the Japan Golf Tour Organization in the co-sanctioned event.
The latest 2022 Zozo Championship odds at Caesars Sportsbook list Schauffele as the 9-1 favorite. Sungjae Im is second in the odds at 12-1, followed closely by Matsuyama (14-1), Morikawa (14-1) and 2022 Shriners winner Tom Kim (16-1). Cameron Young, a finalist for 2022 Rookie of the Year, is priced at 19-1, while Viktor Hovland is a 21-1 choice in the Zozo Championship 2022 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
In a notable surprise from McDonald’s picks this week is that the expert is fading Corey Conners. Many bettors will look at the Canadian’s stats and see him as an excellent fit for Narashino CC, but Conners has been out of sorts to start the new season. He followed a missed cut at the Forninet with an 0-4-0 showing at the Presidents Cup, so he has work to do. He ranked fifth in strokes gained off the tee and second in greens in regulation last season but was 131st in strokes gained around the green and 136th putting. That’s not a winning formula.
On the other hand, the expert is looking for Morikawa to return to top form on the PGA Tour. The two-time major winner slumped a bit in 2021-22, failing to record a victory after posting at least one in three consecutive seasons. He has five overall, including the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship, and won the 2021 Race to Dubai on the European Tour. His putter failed him last season (131st in strokes gained), but he was in the top 20 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation and scoring average, and he finished in the top five in two majors. 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 9-1
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