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DraftKings preview: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
4 Min Read
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 14: Cameron Champ of the United States plays his shot from the fifth tee during the third round of the Shriners Children's Open at TPC Summerlin on October 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Written by Landon Silinsky
The PGA TOUR heads across the world to Japan this week for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club will be the host course, and measures as a 7,079-yard par 70 with Bentgrass greens. We have a no-cut event on tap this week, so all 78 golfers in the field will play all four rounds.
The field is headlined at the top by the likes of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa and of course, Hideki Matsuyama.
Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here:PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
Xander Schauffele ($11,100)
It sort of feels like a bit of a cop-out writing up the highest-priced player for the past three weeks, but Schauffele is head and shoulders the best player in this field and has a strong course history at Accordia. He’s also made it a priority to show up in Japan each of the past three times this event has been held. In addition, Schauffele won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In three ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP starts, Schauffele has finished T10, T28 and T9. The last time we saw the X-man on TOUR, he was posting a runner-up finish at the TOUR Championship, which was on the heels of a T8 at the BMW Championship. After having somewhat of a subpar season by his standards, he rounded into form at the perfect time. Even in a down year, Schauffele still ranks No. 1 in this field in Strokes Gained: Total, No. 2 in SG: Tee-to-Green and No. 3 in SG: Ball-Striking over the past 48 rounds.
He’s not much pricier than the other $10k+ options this week and has the highest floor/ceiling combination on the slate.
Adam Schenk ($8,000)
Schenk missed the cut last week at the Shriners Children's Open thanks to an awful opening round. However, he shot a second-round 68 and gained 1.4 strokes on approach and 1.1 strokes off-the-tee. Schenk, like Schauffele, has made the trip to Japan each time this event has been held, while finishing inside the top 28 in each appearance, including a T16 last season.
Prior to last week’s MC, Schenk had previously been rolling, finishing T9 at the TOUR Championship and T6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He had a career-best 2023 season as well, posting seven top-10 finishes.
Overall, Schenk ranks 10th in this field in SG: Ball-Striking and 14 in SG: Total. With no threat of a missed cut this week, Schenk’s upside is quite high, and this $8,000 price tag is more than reasonable.
Cameron Champ ($7,100)
Champ has really turned it on this fall after struggling for the better part of the last few years. He finished T18 last week at the Shriners Children's Open while posting a T8 the week before at the Sanderson Farms Championship. During this mini-run, Champ has been getting it done in all facets of the game, ranking No. 1 in the field in SG: Off-the-Tee, eighth in SG: Ball-Striking, 13th in SG: Putting and fifth in SG: Total.
He played this event last year for the first time and finished in solo eighth place, and now comes in with even better form this year. Champ also ranks No. 1 in the field in birdie average over his past two starts, making him the ideal no-cut event target. We will be guaranteed four rounds this week, making Champ one of the slates better values at $7,100.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here:PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.