Matsuyama, Schauffele and Morikawa Among Big Names to Contest ZOZO Championship

Local favorite Hideki Matsuyama, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele and defending champion Collin Morikawa headline a strong field at the 2024 ZOZO Championship, Japan's only official PGA tournament.

Matsuyama won the tournament in 2021, the same year he won the Masters. He has vowed to make another run for the trophy when the action gets underway on Thursday, October 24 at the par-70 Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture.

The 32-year-old native of Ehime Prefecture is in good form heading into this year's event.

Matsuyama won the 2024 event at the Genesis Invitational in February and again at the FedEx St Jude Championship in August, just weeks after winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

"I've won twice this year on the PGA Tour and was able to bring home the bronze medal from the Paris Olympics to Japan," said Matsuyama. "I will give all that I've got to win again in front of my home crowd in Japan."

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Schauffele, 2017 FedExCup champion Justin Thomas and six-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler are also in the field.

Thomas Enters the ZOZO Championship for the 1st Time Since 2019 

Thomas, a two-time major champion and holder of 15 PGA Tour victories, returns to Japan for the first time since the inaugural tournament when he finished in a tie for 17th.

"My first visit to the ZOZO Championship five years ago was truly memorable and I look forward to playing in front of the Japanese fans again," Thomas said. "I will be aiming to produce my best golf in Japan and hopefully challenge for the title."

Fowler, whose maternal grandfather is Japanese, has competed in the last four editions of the tourney. He came closest to winning in 2022 when he tied for second.

"It is always a privilege to compete in Japan due to my heritage," Fowler said. "The golf course is a wonderful venue and has hosted many great champions over the years. I'll be going over with the goal of putting my name on the trophy."

Competing for the first time after a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship in August, Morikawa won the 2023 ZOZO Championship title at Accordia by six shots at 15-under.

Theegala Returns for 3rd ZOZO Championship Appearance

The tournament will also feature Sahith Theegala, who is coming off an impressive third-place finish at the FedExCup.

Theegala, 26, has emerged as a rising star on the PGA Tour. After breaking through for his first tour victory at the Fortinet Championship in September of 2023, he went on to finish an impressive third at the Tour Championship.

"One of the cool things about professional golf is that we get the opportunity to compete in different countries around the world, and Japan is one of my favorite countries," Theegala said. 

Added Theegala, "This will be my third time competing in the ZOZO Championship and I look forward to this challenging test of golf against a world-class field."

The ZOZO Championship will feature a 78-man field that will compete in four rounds with no cut. It will include designated players from the Japan Golf Tour Organization, which is a co-sanction partner.

The tournament began in 2019 as the PGA Tour's first sanctioned event in Japan, and Tiger Woods won that year for his 82nd career win, tying Sam Snead for the most of all-time. It has a total purse of $8.5 million USD (about ¥1.3 billion JPY), with $1.53 million (¥229 million) going to the winner.

Patrick Cantlay won the 2020 edition when it was played at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Keegan Bradley triumphed in 2022 followed by Morikawa last year.

RELATED:

• Shugo Imahira Sinks a Clutch Putt to Win the Japan Open Golf Championship
• Hideki Matsuyama Claims Olympic Golf Bronze with a Final-Round 65
• Collin Morikawa Shoots Bogey-Free Round to Win the ZOZO Championship

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.