Odds Outlook: Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele favored for more Japanese success at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

After staging the first three events in the U.S., the FedExCup Fall shifts to the three-event international segment beginning this week with the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan. A field of 78 players, featuring 16 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), returns to Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club for the fourth time in five years.

The highest-ranked player in the OWGR, No. 6 Xander Schauffele (+800), is also the betting favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook. Making his fourth consecutive appearance 50 miles outside of Tokyo, where he won an Olympic gold medal two years ago, Schauffele will be looking to add another top performance in the Far East. Posting T10 on debut in the 2019 edition, he signed for T9 last year, his best of the bunch. A noted limited-field, no-cut event expert, he cashed T7 at the BMW Championship and was T2 at the TOUR Championship in his last two appearances on his own ball.

On a track that demands tee-to-green acumen, Collin Morikawa (+1000) rises to second choice. Ranking in the top four in SG: Approach (No. 2) and SG: Tee to Green (No. 4), the two-time major champion will be looking for his first victory since November of 2021 when he won the DP World Championship Dubai. Opening 61-64 at East Lake in September suggests he’s getting closer to lifting the winner’s trophy again. Making his fourth appearance in Japan, he will look to improve on T7 as his best result.

After withdrawing with a back injury from the BMW Championship in late August, local star Hideki Matsuyama (+1600) will be looking to return to form as the crowd favorite. The only PGA TOUR event played in Japan has brought out the best in the Masters champion. In the inaugural edition in 2019, he finished alone in second on 16-under. Returning to Japan for the 2021 tournament, he posted 15-under and won by five. The Japanese star will be trying to win for the first time since the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Rickie Fowler (+1600) makes his third consecutive trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. After not breaking par (Par-70; 7,091 yards) in his first visit, he opened 67-63-66 last year to lead after 54 holes. Closing with 70 and missing a playoff by a shot, he finished one back of Keegan Bradley (+2000). The winner in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last summer, he will be looking for his first top 10 since his victory. Joining the three players above, Fowler also has family ties to the region. His maternal grandfather is of Japanese descent.

Korean Sungjae Im (+1600) bounced back after a quiet summer. Losing in a playoff last weekend at the Genesis Championship in his native land, he picked up his third top-10 paycheck in his last five starts worldwide. Earlier this month, he was part of the victorious Korean team at the Asian Games. Paired with Si Woo Kim and two amateurs, the foursome won the gold medal and will be exempt from mandatory military service. Making his debut here in 2019, he closed 64-67-65 for T3, three shots behind Matsuyama. Super off the tee and around the greens, his steady nature will play this week.

Sahith Theegala (+1800) kicked off the PGA TOUR FedExCup Fall by winning for the first time at the Fortinet Championship. The California native, who has only missed four cuts in 29 events this season, picked up his first top 10 since the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters. With the pressure of winning for the first time firmly in the rear-view mirror, he will look to improve on his T5 finish from last season on debut in Japan. Highlighted by 63 in Round 3, he played his final 54 holes in 13 under.

Australians Cam Davis (+2000) and Min Woo Lee (+2000) join defending champion Keegan Bradley just outside the top six choices. The red-hot Davis caught the red-eye to Japan after his sixth, top-10 finish in his last seven events after posting T7 in Las Vegas. He’s 34-under in two FedExCup Fall events. Lee steamrolled the field at the Macau Open in China, going wire-to-wire to win for the first time in two years. Posting 30 under and hoisting a trophy suggests he’s ready to contend again this week.

Here's a look at some other notable odds in the limited field in Japan, via BetMGM:

+2500: Eric Cole, Adam Scott
+3500: Beau Hossler
+4000: Adam Svensson, Alex Noren, J.J. Spaun, K.H. Lee
+4500: Nicolai Hojgaard, Aaron Rai, Thomas Detry
+5000: Tom Hoge, Cameron Champ, Emiliano Grillo, Nick Taylor, Taylor Moore, Vincent Norrman
+5500: Ben Griffin
+6000: Joel Dahmen
+6600: Callum Tarren, Garrick Higgo, Justin Suh, Keith Mitchell, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace, Michael Kim, S.H. Kim, Sam Ryder, Takumi Kanaya, Lee Hodges, Ryo Hisatune, Sam Stevens
+8000: Akshay Bhatia, Davis Riley, Dylan Wu, Keita Nakajima, Kurt Kitayama, Matt NeSmith, Nick Hardy, Taylor Montgomery
+9000: Brandon Wu
+10000: Hayden Buckley, Austin Eckroat, Mackenzie Hughes, Nate Lashley
+12500: Harry Hall, David Lipsky, Robby Shelton
+15000: Andrew Novak, Justin Lower, Kevin Yu, Will Gordon, Zac Blair
+17500: Taiga Semikawa, Yuki Inamori
+20000: Aaron Baddeley, Ben Taylor, Ryo Ishikawa, Ryutaro Nagano, Young-Han Song
+25000: David Lingmerth, Shugo Imahira
+30000: Satoshi Kodaira
+40000: Mikumu Horikawa, Tyson Alexander
+50000: Aguri Iwasaki, Kaito Onishi, Kansei Hirata, Trevor Werbylo

How it works:

• Field of 78 players
• No cut after 36 holes
• Purse of $8.4 million with the winner taking home $1.512 million, plus 500 FedExCup points.
• The winner is also eligible for The Sentry, Masters and PGA Championship in 2024.

Circle back tomorrow as I post more details in Horses for Courses plus the Betting Stat Pack.

The PGA TOUR is committed to protecting our fans. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, the National Council on Problem Gambling operates a confidential toll-free hotline that you can reach by phone or text at 1-800-522-4700.