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