The First Look: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Collin Morikawa’s victory at the 2023 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP meant so very much to him.

“There are only a few places around the world where you hope to win before the end of your career and for me, Japan is one of those places,” Morikawa wrote in a recent blog. “Winning the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last October meant the world to me.”

Morikawa is looking to become the first person to go back-to-back at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. He returns to action at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club – his first stroke-play event on TOUR since the TOUR Championship. Morikawa was part of the U.S. Team that saw victory at the Presidents Cup this fall in Montreal.

There is significant star power heading across the Pacific Ocean to Japan for this year’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, headlined by world No. 2 Xander Schauffele. And there is plenty of drama still left to unfold around the top 60 bubble in the FedExCup Fall standings (as players look ahead to the Aon Next 10 and the 2025 Signature Events) along with the ever-important top 125 to secure full status next season.

Here's everything else you need to know as the TOUR returns to Japan.

FIELD NOTES: Morikawa returns to defend his ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP title from a year ago – a drought-busting victory after more than two years without one. Morikawa has eight top-10 finishes this season with two runners-up (including at the TOUR Championship)… World No. 2 Schauffele is also back in action for the first time since Royal Montreal Golf Club. Schauffele has been a model of consistency this season, finishing inside the top 25 in 20 of the 21 events he’s played. He has won twice – both major championships – and amassed 15 top 10s. Schauffele has two top 10s in four starts at Narashino Country Club... Hideki Matsuyama returns to action in Japan after a two-win season. Matsuyama, who played for the International Team at the Presidents Cup, finished runner-up at the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and won the event when it returned to Japan in 2021 after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19… There are plenty of other top-ranked golfers teeing it up in Japan, including Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, Max Homa and Justin Thomas… Kevin Yu holds the No. 60 spot in the FedExCup Fall standings – and the final spot in the Aon Next 10 – and is back in action. He missed the cut in at the Shriners Children’s Open after his maiden TOUR title at the Sanderson Farms Championship… The bubble watch for the top 125 on the FedExCup standings is firmly on. S.H. Kim holds the No. 123 spot and is the closest man inside the bubble who is playing the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. He will look to pad his points total this week… There are numerous homegrown talents in the field via their performance on the Japan Golf Tour, led by Ryo Ishikawa, who finished T4 last year at Narashino Country Club.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Gary Woodland notched his first top-10 finish since undergoing brain surgery at the end of last year at the Shriners Children’s Open, finishing T9 in Las Vegas. He’s back in action in Japan, where he finished fifth in 2019… Satoshi Kodaira returns to the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP for the sixth time. He’s recorded top 20 results in his last two starts at Narashino Country Club. This will be his second TOUR start this season… Zac Blair and Joel Dahmen look to earn some very valuable FedExCup points this week, with Blair sitting 118th in the FedExCup Fall standings and Dahmen 129th… Takahiro Hataji rounds out the sponsor exemptions. Hataji is a two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour this season.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: As part of the Aon Next 10, players ranked Nos. 51-60 through the FedExCup Fall will earn their way into two early season 2025 Signature Events – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational… With his T9 at the Shriners Children’s Open, Harris English jumped from No. 54 to No. 52 in the standings. His result in Vegas was his second consecutive top 10 in the FedExCup Fall… Mackenzie Hughes continues to hold onto the No. 51 spot. No players jumped inside the Nos. 51-60 group last week in Las Vegas… Doug Ghim, who finished runner-up to J.T. Poston (who was already inside the top 50 in the standings after the FedExCup season), jumped from No. 93 to No. 70 in the standings and is now about 150 points back of the No. 60 spot.

FEDEXCUP:

• Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.
• The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is the fifth event of the FedExCup Fall.
• At the end of the FedExCup Fall, those that rank from Nos. 126-150 on the final FedExCup Fall Points List will have conditional status for the 2025 PGA TOUR Season.
• All players outside the top 125 can improve or regain TOUR status via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

COURSE: ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club, par 70, 7,079 yards. Just east of Tokyo, it’s a stunning parkland layout designed by Kinya Fujita. Opened in 1965, it first hosted the Japan PGA Championship just three years later. The club welcomed the PGA TOUR in 2019 after playing host to plenty of other high-level golf events in its history. The layout for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP mixes nine holes each from the club’s King Course and Queen Course, the result being five par 3s and three par 5s.

72-HOLE RECORD:

• 261, Tiger Woods (2019)

18-HOLE RECORD:

• 61, John Huh (Second round, 2023)
• 61, Richy Werenski (Second round, 2020 @ Sherwood)

LAST TIME: Morikawa broke a 27-month winless drought on the PGA TOUR, capturing the 2023 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in dominating fashion. Morikawa broke through Sunday in Japan with a tidy 7-under 63 – the round of the day – to win by six shots. Morikawa – who is half Japanese and said this victory was extra special – started the day two shots back of the 54-hole leader, Justin Suh, but ripped off four birdies in his first nine holes to take control of the tournament as Suh faded. This marked Morikawa’s first TOUR title since winning The Open Championship in 2021. Eric Cole and Beau Hossler finished tied for second, while Robby Shelton and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa finished tied for fourth.

How to follow (all times ET)

Television

• Wednesday-Saturday: 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Golf Channel)