Morikawa – Golfing Agency https://golfingagency.com Golf news & updates Sat, 07 Jan 2023 04:10:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 https://golfingagency.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-GA_favicon-32x32.png Morikawa – Golfing Agency https://golfingagency.com 32 32 2023 Tournament of Champions leaderboard: Collin Morikawa separates himself in second round at Kapalua https://golfingagency.com/2023-tournament-of-champions-leaderboard-collin-morikawa-separates-himself-in-second-round-at-kapalua/ Sat, 07 Jan 2023 04:10:29 +0000 https://golfingagency.com/2023-tournament-of-champions-leaderboard-collin-morikawa-separates-himself-in-second-round-at-kapalua/

At the 2023 Tournament of Champions, it is not a victor from the 2021-22 season that occupies the top of the leaderboard, but a prolific winner, nevertheless. Collin Morikawa commands the solo lead at 16 under midway through the action at the Plantation Course at Kapalua as the two-time major champion has looked rejuvenated with the putter in hand.

A top three-iron player on the PGA Tour each of the last three seasons, Morikawa’s putter has often held the keys to victory. If he putts well, he seriously threatens to enter the winner’s circle. If he doesn’t, an appearance on the third or fourth page of the leaderboard usually takes shape.

This week the former is unfolding as the introduction of putting coach Stephen Sweeney and short-game guru Parker McLachlin to his inner circle is already paying dividends. Over the weekend, the short game will need to continue to cash in if he is to enter the winner’s circle for the first time since November 2022 and for the first time in the U.S. since February 2021.

It will be no easy task as he is followed closely behind by Tournament of Champions debutant J.J. Spaun and reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler at 14 under. Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick all find themselves on the first page of the leaderboard and within five strokes of Morikawa with 36 holes to play.

The leader

1. Collin Morikawa (-16)

Morikawa may not have won in 2022, but statistically, he was the exact same from a strokes-gained perspective as he was in 2021 when he won three times. This week, he leads the field in strokes gained putting, gaining nearly four strokes with the flat stick through two rounds, and combined with his buttery iron play has made for a lethal one-two punch. As someone who typically lags behind the competition on the greens, it is this club which will make or break the world No. 11’s first start of the year.

Other contenders

T2. Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun (-14)

4. Jordan Spieth (-13)

5. Tom Kim (-12)

T6. Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm (-11)

T8. Luke List, Tony Finau, Corey Conners, Aaron Wise (-10) 

What more is there to say about Tom Kim? Every time it appears as if the course is unsuitable for his game or the competition is too stiff, he pops up on the first page of the leaderboard. Paired with former world No. 1 Rahm on Friday, Kim looked at ease despite letting his fair share of birdie opportunities fall by the wayside. Still only four strokes off the pace of Morikawa, if he is to win, not only would it be his third victory in his very young PGA Tour career, but the 20-year-old would also be following in the footsteps of a rather big name (Tiger Woods).

Scheffler looks to regain world No. 1 status

The former world No. 1 is in position to return to the top spot in the world over the weekend should he finish in a two-way tie for third or better. In order for him to do so, Scheffler will need the putter to begin to cooperate as he currently leads the field in strokes gained tee to green. 

In the 16 starts following his victory at The Masters, Scheffler has averaged -0.35 strokes gained putting per round. Through two rounds at Kapalua, he has posted -0.69 strokes gained putting per round and ranks 30th in the field. A turnaround with this club could lead to a win and ascending to No. 1 in the world again.

2023 Tournament of Champions updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

  • Collin Morikawa: 2-1
  • Scottie Scheffler: 13/5
  • Jordan Spieth: 7-1
  • Jon Rahm: 17/2
  • J.J. Spaun: 12-1
  • Tom Kim: 14-1
  • Matt Fitzpatrick: 22-1
  • Tony Finau: 28-1

This is tough. Conventional wisdom suggests Morikawa regresses on the greens, but that is without knowing the staying power of this new-found confidence in his putting stroke. This would also mean Scheffler shows improvement, which I believe to be the more likely scenario, and at just shorter than 3-1 is a worthwhile investment. 

Spieth continues to be a human rollercoaster and Rahm is beginning to show similar characteristics making me uneasy about the idea of backing either of them. Unsure if Kim can continue this rapid ascension, if itching for a longer price, my money would be on Finau at 28-1 with the hope of a hot putting performance over the weekend.



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2023 Tournament of Champions leaderboard: Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa tied at the top after Round 1 https://golfingagency.com/2023-tournament-of-champions-leaderboard-jon-rahm-collin-morikawa-tied-at-the-top-after-round-1/ Fri, 06 Jan 2023 04:45:41 +0000 https://golfingagency.com/2023-tournament-of-champions-leaderboard-jon-rahm-collin-morikawa-tied-at-the-top-after-round-1/

The first round of the 2023 Tournament of Champions was everything you’d want from the opening event of a calendar year: Superstars at the top, birdies all over the yard and — of course! — Jordan Spieth doing his normal unicycle ride while juggling flaming torches.

A trio of leaders sit at the top of the field as Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and J.J. Spaun all co-lead at 9 under on the par-73 Kapalua course. A crowded pack that includes Tom Kim, Tom Hoge, Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler is hot on their heels, however. That means there’s plenty of star power capable of making a run over the next three days. 

We’ll dive into their rounds below, as well as what to expect the rest of the week from this loaded field. With the first event of 2023 underway, let’s dive into the first round of the Tournament of Champions. 

The leaders

T1. Jon Rahm, J.J. Spaun, Collin Morikawa (-9): Rahm followed his 33-under performance a year ago with a 9-under 63 on Thursday, and he now has 40 birdies and two eagles in his last 90 holes at Kapalua. After playing the front nine in 31, he got into a bothersome spot on the back with a bogey at the par-4 14th. That bogey set him back a bit, but he closed with three birdies in his last four holes, including a near-eagle at the last hole that turned into an easy bird.

Rahm is going to be extraordinarily difficult to keep up with if he putts like he did on Thursday when he led the field at nearly four strokes gained on the round (Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland were second best at 2.07). He likely won’t putt like that, but good luck to the field against somebody who is averaging 8.4 strokes under par in his last five rounds here.

Other contenders

4. Tom Kim (-8)

T5. Matt Fitzpatrick, Aaron Wise, Tom Hoge, Mackenzie Hughes, Sungjae Im, Scottie Scheffler (-7)

Scheffler was probably the most interesting out of this group. He putted horribly — he lost nearly two strokes on the greens and made one putt over 5 feet — but he still shot 66. That’s scary coming from the No. 2 player in the world. Scheffler has something at stake here beyond winning, too. He needs a top-three finish to regain the No. 1 ranking in the world from Rory McIlroy, who is not playing this week at Kapalua.

Kim exceeding expectations

It probably shouldn’t surprise me that Kim shot 65, but it still does. As bullish as I am on him as a person and a potential star, I’m equally dubious that his statistical profile meets the modern thriving top-10 player. And yet, at every level he’s played, he’s continued to win and win and win. In 81 OWGR starts, he has eight wins, and his PGA Tour winning percentage is slightly better. I want to be wrong about him in the long term because he’s so much fun to write about and cover (see below), but I have to say I didn’t necessarily see this round coming from him at Kapalua.

Shot of the day

Jordan Spieth had a very Jordan Spieth round. He missed a 2-foot putt but also took a full swing from 33 feet away on the 15th hole for par following some problems in the bunker on his third shot. If you’ve ever tried to take a full swing with any club from 30 feet, it’s basically impossible to hole the shot, but here we are.

Spieth also had an amazing exchange in which he asked two gentleman at the event if they could tone down the wagering chatter while he was putting. A very normal early season start for Spieth.

Shot of the day, Part II 

The hole-out eagle was great, but Kim asking the cameras if they caught it was even better.

Morikawa is fine

I recently wrote about some of the consternation surrounding Collin Morikawa at the end of 2022, a year in which he did not win. This stat from Data Golf should sum up how I feel about where he’s at right now:

  • Strokes gained 2020-21 season: 1.41 (3 wins)
  • Strokes gained 2021-22 season: 1.41 (0 wins)

Furthermore, Morikawa’s ceiling didn’t really change. He went from third to sixth in the world in 95th percentile rounds. In other words, his best stuff was still among the best stuff of other top-10 players in the world. What did change is that he didn’t win, which can be attributed to so many other things (luck, good bounces, field makeup etc.). Morikawa was undervalued overall coming into 2023, and though he won’t play as well as he did on Thursday for the rest of the year, I think it’s emblematic of what we could be in for with him this year. There’s still time to buy low.

2023 Tournament of Champions updated odds and picks

  • Jon Rahm: +240
  • Collin Morikawa: +650
  • Scottie Scheffler: 8-1
  • Tom Kim: 12-1
  • Sungjae Im: 14-1
  • Tony Finau: 16-1
  • Matt Fitzpatrick: 16-1
  • Jordan Spieth: 22-1
  • Viktor Hovland: 22-1
  • Aaron Wise: 22-1

To the surprise of nobody, I’m in on Spieth at 22-1. He plays great at this golf course, and he’s helped when he has a lot of external things going on (slope, wind, etc.) because it gets him out of his own head. He didn’t even putt well on Thursday and still found a way to shoot 67. In terms of the leaders, Morikawa at +650 is the play for me. Rahm’s putting round was magnificent, which won’t continue, and Morikawa is still being a tad undervalued because he’s coming on off a year in which he didn’t win at all.



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Collin Morikawa was still a terrific golfer in 2022 despite young PGA Tour star failing secure a victory https://golfingagency.com/collin-morikawa-was-still-a-terrific-golfer-in-2022-despite-young-pga-tour-star-failing-secure-a-victory/ Mon, 07 Nov 2022 22:23:33 +0000 https://golfingagency.com/collin-morikawa-was-still-a-terrific-golfer-in-2022-despite-young-pga-tour-star-failing-secure-a-victory/

Collin Morikawa was unsuccessful in picking up a victory at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. He was barely in contention, but when the dust settled on one of the last PGA Tour events of the year, Morikawa still found himself at the center of the story.

Earlier in the week, Golf Channel commentator Trevor Immelman had posited that perhaps the reason Morikawa has been struggling in 2022 — a year during which he has failed to secure a win — was because of how difficult it is to live up to the high bar he set for himself early in his career when he won five of his first 50 PGA Tour events and two of his first eight major championships.

Morikawa’s reaction to the very innocuous comment from Immelman was strange, and made me think he had completely misunderstood what Immelman had said.

“Wow, that’s hard to hear from him,” Morikawa told Golf Channel. “I couldn’t care less what he says there because I don’t think that’s my bar. I think I’ve got so much more to improve. I’ve been near last on putting. I don’t think I’ve even finished close to being average on putting. If I can just get my putting to be average, I think there’s so much more to improve. I don’t know where that came from, but that kind of stings there. I don’t like to hear that.

“I don’t know if that was a compliment, I’ll be honest. If he did, maybe it came off wrong from what I heard. For me, I’ve never seen a ceiling. I just want to keep improving. Obviously, we took a couple steps back this year. It’s just trying to get better every day and trying to improve on little things. I expect myself to play well. I set really high goals for myself. It just sucks when they don’t come through.”

Immelman later confirmed that the entire thing was in fact a misunderstanding, but between Morikawa’s reaction, his hiring of a putting coach and his early-week monologue about the plight of getting old (Morikawa turns 26 next February), it made me wonder what else was going on with the two-time major champion.

“It was a lot more stressful this year,” Morikawa said of his 2022. “I’ve just been kind of trying to figure out what was wrong when it was simply just kind of a body thing and just the way my body was moving. Unfortunately, it took seven, eight months throughout the year to at least find that, but that’s on me. Everything is on me just to know what’s going on. I’ve got a great team around me, but that’s the best thing is that, you know, I still have to be aware of what I’m doing.

“I just wasn’t kind of being able to make sure everything was where I wanted it to be. It’s a grind, but that’s what’s great. Even though we are kind of heading towards this offseason, this fall area, I’m putting a lot of pieces together and putting a lot of work in to make sure this kind of next 2023 is going to be [the] best ever.”

To be clear, Morikawa was talking about the way his body functioned in 2022.

“I think it’s just getting old,” said the 25-year-old. “Yeah, no, it’s just getting old. I mean, man, I drank way more in college than I ever do now, but apparently when you get older, your body just moves differently. I still feel great, like everything feels great, everything moves great, but it’s just not as clean as it was. And the maintenance I have to do now is just a little bit more. It doesn’t mean I need to do anything crazy, I’m not changing anything really, it’s just getting my body to where I need it to be.

“Last year, I didn’t really have to focus on it, but when I look back and you think about how much travel I’ve done over the past three and a half years, it’s a lot. It doesn’t stop. I love it, but travel takes a toll on your body and it takes a toll on you and you’ve got to be able to kind of work your way through that and that’s what the best athletes are doing.”

It’s clear that there is frustration from Morikawa that he has been unable to back up his spectacular 2020 and 2021 campaigns with something similar in 2022, and he sort of proved Immelman’s point — and to be fair, the same point many pundits and even players have made over the years — that when you don’t achieve what you once achieved at such a young age, it can wear on you mentally, physically and emotionally.

As for the golf itself, not a ton changed statistically, which should be encouraging to Morikawa. He dropped slightly in ball striking from 2021 (1.62 to 1.47 strokes gained per round) but not nearly enough to be worrisome. He was actually a better putter in 2022 than he was in 2021, although his short game suffered the biggest categorical drop compared to any other part of his game.

One interesting nuance is that while Morikawa’s very best performances and very worst performances were nearly identical to what he did in 2021 (his expected wins did drop from 1.97 to 0.94 from 2021 to 2022), his median performances in 2022 were far worse than they were in 2021. This, theoretically, shouldn’t matter as it relates to winning (you only win with your best performances anyway), but it might matter in regards to how he feels like he is playing.

The point here is that Morikawa is going to be fine. He’s a high-variance player, which if you’re intent on collecting a lot of trophies is what you want to be. It would serve him well mentally and emotionally to understand that just because a few tournaments went his way early in his career, that doesn’t mean his baseline is somebody who wins three or four regular events and a major every year. Data Golf had him at 0.20 expected majors in 2020, and he won one; it had him at 0.45 expected majors in 2021, and he won another. This matters because, while he was good, he was not overwhelmingly great in 2020-2021 yet the expectations after winning two majors started to pile up. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if Morikawa was a three-win, no-major guy.

If you take the long view, wins and losses often happen randomly, which means they can sometimes happen in bunches. Just because you win two of your first eight majors doesn’t mean you’re the second coming of Tiger Woods. Just because you don’t win any of your next 15 doesn’t mean the Korn Ferry Tour is in your future.

Morikawa exceeded both expectations and statistical probabilities in terms of winning over the first few years of his career. He overachieved. That happens, but it doesn’t mean a winless year has changed him as a player or a competitor even if it can often feel that way. 

Are there things to work on? Sure. Can the iron play get a tad better? Yes. Does he need to clean up his short game a bit? Absolutely. But if Morikawa continues to play like he did in 2022, he’s going to have more seasons (in terms of wins) like he experienced in 2021. That can seem counterintuitive, but as we’ve seen so many times throughout the history of golf, this game makes absolutely no sense. If you let it, the sport can befuddle even those who have seemingly every answer.



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2022 World Wide Technology Championship picks, predictions, odds, props: PGA expert says back Collin Morikawa https://golfingagency.com/2022-world-wide-technology-championship-picks-predictions-odds-props-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/ https://golfingagency.com/2022-world-wide-technology-championship-picks-predictions-odds-props-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/#respond Mon, 31 Oct 2022 22:42:23 +0000 https://golfingagency.com/2022-world-wide-technology-championship-picks-predictions-odds-props-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/

A handful of the top stars on the PGA Tour are making the trek south of the border to take on El Camaleon Golf Course in the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. The tournament tees off Thursday in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and Viktor Hovland returns as a two-time defending champion. The world’s 11th-ranked golfer got his second tour victory at Mayakoba in 2020, then went 23 under to win by four strokes last year. World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler is the highest-ranked player in the World Wide Technology Championship 2022 field, and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa also is scheduled to compete. They will be joined by players like Tony Finau, Billy Horschel and Seamus Power, who won last week’s Bermuda Championship. In addition to Hovland, six other former Mayakoba winners are in the field, including Brendon Todd, Matt Kuchar and Harris English.

The latest 2022 World Wide Technology Championship odds list Scheffler as the 9-1 favorite, with Hovland right behind at 10-1. Five other golfers in the World Wide Technology Championship 2022 field are 20-1 or shorter – Finau (14-1), Billy Horschel (16-1), Aaron Wise (16-1), Maverick McNealy (18-1) and Morikawa (20-1). Before you make any 2022 World Wide Technology Championship picks or bets, you need to check out the PGA Tour predictions, best bets and sleepers from SportsLine 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.

McDonald hit two of his three matchup plays at the Bermuda Championship, including winner Seamus Power +100 over pre-tournament favorite Denny McCarthy. At the Zozo Championship, McDonald nailed a first-round leader, backing 80-1 Brendan Steele, and also hit two of three matchup plays, backing winner Keegan Bradley over Corey Conners, one of the favorites. He is up more than 15 units on matchup wagers this season, and anyone who followed McDonald’s advice cashed in huge.

Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 World Wide Technology 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 World Wide Technology Championship expert picks

One major surprise from McDonald: The expert is fading McNealy, saying “his name simply does not belong in this portion of the odds board.” The former world No. 1 amateur hasn’t recorded a PGA Tour victory yet and finished in the top 10 four times in 27 events last season. He has three straight top-20 finishes in this campaign but hasn’t been scoring particularly low. He is 17 under par over his past two tournaments, shooting 69 or higher in five of eight rounds. McNealy also can get wild off the tee, which will get him into some trouble on El Camaleon.  

On the other hand, the expert likes what he sees from Morikawa and thinks this just might be the place to end his victory drought. The PGA and Open champion has gone almost a year without a worldwide victory, but he was in the top 10 eight times, including two runner-up finishes, last season. He hasn’t cracked the top 25 in two events so far this fall, but this course can hide the problems he has in the short game and on the greens. Morikawa was sixth in strokes gained tee to green at the CJ Cup, where he slipped to T-29 with a final-round 72. See who else to pick at Mayakoba here. 

How to make 2022 World Wide Technology Championship golf picks

Before this week’s PGA Tour event south of the border, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship. He has several outright plays, including a monster longshot that would bring a massive payout of 100-1. You can only find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald’s picks and PGA Tour analysis, at SportsLine.

So which 2022 World Wide Technology Championship picks should you target? Which golfer priced at 100-1 could pull off a stunning victory this week at World Wide Technology Championship 2022? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top prop picks for World Wide Technology Championship 2022, all from the expert who ended last season up 42 units on outright plays, and find out.

2022 World Wide Technology Championship odds, field, top contenders

See full World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here. 

Scottie Scheffler +950
Viktor Hovland +950
Tony Finau +1400
Collin Morikawa +1600
Billy Horschel +2000
Aaron Wise +2000
Maverick Mcnealy +2600
Taylor Montgomery +2600
Tom Hoge +2700
Jason Day +3400
Emiliano Grillo +3400
Seamus Power +3700
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +4200
Brendon Todd +4200
Brian Harman +4200
Alex Noren +4500
Thomas Detry +4500
Keith Mitchell +5000
Russell Henley +5000
Patrick Rodgers +5000
Adam Hadwin +5500
Harris English +5500
Aaron Rai +6000
Robby Shelton +6500
Mark Hubbard +6500
Justin Lower +6500
Justin Rose +6500
Hayden Buckley +6500
Sepp Straka +6500
Andrew Putnam +6500
Matt Kuchar +7000
Dean Burmester +7000
Francesco Molinari +7000
Sebastian Munoz +7500
Cameron Champ +7500
Nick Hardy +7500
Russell Knox +8000
Lee Hodges +8000
Greyson Sigg +8000
Joel Dahmen +8000
Davis Riley +8000
Chris Kirk +8500
Kevin Streelman +8500
J.T. Poston +9000
Brandon Wu +10000
Erik Van Rooyen +10000
Adam Long +10000
Garrick Higgo +10000
Chun-an Yu +10000
Danny Willett +10000
Matt Wallace +10000
Justin Suh +10000
Nick Taylor +10000
Beau Hossler +10000
J.J. Spaun +11000
Adria Arnaus +11000
Seonghyeon Kim +11000
Martin Laird +11000
Adam Svensson +11000
Byeong Hun An +11000
Dylan Frittelli +12000
Ben Griffin +12000
James Hahn +12000
Austin Eckroat +12000
Will Gordon +12000
Austin Smotherman +12000
Troy Merritt +12000
Ryan Palmer +12000
David Lipsky +14000
Lucas Glover +14000
Ze-Cheng Dou +16000
Callum Tarren +16000
Harrison Endycott +16000
Ryan Armour +16000
Charley Hoffman +16000
Travis Vick +16000
C.T. Pan +16000
John Huh +16000



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Zozo Championship 2022 picks, predictions, best bets, odds: PGA expert says back Collin Morikawa https://golfingagency.com/zozo-championship-2022-picks-predictions-best-bets-odds-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/ https://golfingagency.com/zozo-championship-2022-picks-predictions-best-bets-odds-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/#respond Wed, 12 Oct 2022 21:02:48 +0000 https://golfingagency.com/zozo-championship-2022-picks-predictions-best-bets-odds-pga-expert-says-back-collin-morikawa/

Xander Schauffele will be back in the country that was the site of one of his career highlights when he tees off at the 2022 Zozo Championship. The co-sanctioned tournament with the Japan Golf Tour begins Wednesday night at Narashino Country Club near Tokyo. Schauffele won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics at nearby Kasumigaseki Country Club just over a year ago. The 28-year-old is making his PGA Tour season debut after finishing fourth at the Tour Championship in August and helping lead the United States to victory in the Presidents Cup last month. Schauffele is the highest-ranked golfer in the Zozo Championship 2022 field at No. 6. 

Schauffele is the 9-1 favorite in the latest 2022 Zozo Championship odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Sungjae Im (12-1) and Hideki Matsuyama (14-1). Collin Morikawa (14-1) and Tom Kim (14-1) also are among the top contenders in the 2022 Zozo Championship 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 (25-1) despite the evident skill that should play well at Narashino. Conners finished in the top 25 in almost half his events last season (12 of 25) and was in the top 10 four times. That is because he is one of the tour’s best players from tee to green. He was 18th in strokes gained total and 20th in scoring average (69.941) in 2021-22 and ranked second in greens in regulation (71.9%). But his putting and chipping have been abysmal, costing him 1.5 strokes per round last season. 

On the other hand, McDonald is looking for Morikawa to start finding the form that won him two majors before age 25. He got off to a good start at the Presidents Cup, building confidence before his initial tour start of this season by going 2-1-0 in Team USA’s victory. He went a full season without winning a tournament for the first time in his career, but he finished in the top-five in two majors. He went 66-69-65 at the Tour Championship but faded Sunday with victory out of reach. Morikawa was third in both strokes gained approach and proximity to the hole in 2021-22.  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



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