As the pandemic hopefully continues to slow down the TOUR speeds up as it returns to the Tokyo suburbs for the first time since 2019 for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. The invitational field of 78 players will navigate Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club for the second time in three years. The debut event in 2019 was conquered in the wee hours of the morning in the States by Tiger Woods for career win No. 82. Sadly, Woods is still recovering from serious injuries from a February car crash and won’t be able to defend. The 2020 event was played at Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles and won’t provide any angle for this year’s edition. Playing to Par-70 and 7,041 yards Narashino Country Club saw only nine players post 10-under or better during the maiden voyage. An interesting mix of FIVE Par-3 holes and THREE Par-5 holes is unusual for Par-70 track. So are having two greens on EVERY hole. Rob Bolton does an excellent job of explaining why that is the case. In the first edition the course played well over par (71.55) on Thursday before lift, clean and replace dropped the average after a deluge on Friday (68.31). Fairways will be difficult to find so approach and recovery shots will be the order of the week. The soft conditions of 2019, 10 inches of rain, won’t be replicated so it will be interesting how firm it will or will not play. First time contestants won’t have trusty green maps to rely on from the past edition and will have to learn on the fly. There were only 16 bogey-free rounds in the first edition. Summer Olympians returning to the Land of the Rising Sun will know some of the tricks to alleviate jet lag and culture shock. On the line is a purse of $9.95 million with the winner taking home $1.791 million plus 500 FedExCup points. Recent Event Winners 2019: Tiger Woods (-19, 261; not entered) KEY STAT LEADERS Top golfers in each statistic on the PGA TOUR (thru 2021 season) are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Horses for Courses – 2019 ZOZO FINISHERS
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