Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

By Erik Dantoft

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Leaderboard Heading into the Weekend:

Hideki Matsuyama showed magnificent form at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP during the opening rounds when he shot a round one 6-under 64 and followed that up with a 2-under 68 in round two.  Matsuyama will enter the weekend as the 36-hole leader with a one-stroke advantage at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club and has a 33.65% implied probability to win.  Cameron Tringale showed why he was one of pretournament betting favorites when he shot a total of 7-under par on Thursday and Friday at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.  He is currently in solo 2^nd place on the leaderboard after two rounds of play in Chiba, Japan.  Joaquin Niemann is enjoying his time at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club so far as he displayed a solid tee-to-green game and hot putter during the first two rounds of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.  He currently is 5-under par heading into the weekend.  Tommy Fleetwood also impressed on the golf course after he also fired 5-under par thus far.  He joins Joaquin Niemann at T5 on the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP leaderboard.  Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Emiliano Grillo, Garrick Higgo, and C.T. Pan all made too many mistakes at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club during the opening rounds and have a lot of catching up to do over the weekend to get back into the mix.  The weather in Chiba, Japan should improve after Friday’s rainy conditions, so hopefully an exciting conclusion with plenty of Weekend Golf scoring is on the way…

Round 1 Scoring Avg:  70.321

Round 2 Scoring Avg:  70.744

Notable Poor Starts at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP:

Xander Schauffele

Will Zalatoris

Rickie Fowler

Maverick McNealy

Keegan Bradley

Charley Hoffman

Emiliano Grillo

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Weather:  The latest weather forecast for Chiba, Japan can be found here.

Updated Implied Probability to Win the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP:

Hideki Matsuyama	1	38.56%
Cameron Tringale	2	15.38%
Tommy Fleetwood	T5	8.84%
Matt Wallace	T3	7.74%
Brendan Steele	T3	6.67%
Alex Noren	T7	4.49%
Joaquin Niemann	T5	4.13%
Lanto Griffin	T7	3.18%
Matt Jones	T7	3.05%
Sebastián Muñoz		2.82%
Collin Morikawa	T20	2.64%
Troy Merritt	T7	2.39%
Erik Van Rooyen	T14	1.38%
Luke List	T14	1.07%
Mackenzie Hughes	T14	1.02%

 

Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP:

Hideki Matsuyama – $10,700:  Hideki Matsuyama had two outstanding rounds in Chiba, Japan as he is overall currently averaging +4.532 strokes gained total at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.  He is enjoying another test at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club and should remain at the top of the leaderboard during rounds three and four.  Matsuyama is currently the 36-hole leader at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club and loves golfing in front of his home crowd, so two more low rounds over the weekend should be awaiting…

Collin Morikawa – $10,000:  Collin Morikawa is currently T20 on the leaderboard at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club and makes for a great Weekend Golf play due to his respectable implied chance of winning the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP still (2.64%).  In other words, Morikawa is “expected” to make a move over the weekend in Chiba, Japan and hopefully cut into Hideki Matsuyama’s lead a bit.  That also means that a particularly good Weekend Golf fantasy score would be on the way too.

Also consider:

Xander Schauffele – $10,300

 

Tommy Fleetwood – $9,300:  Tommy Fleetwood is golfing at a high level as he shot a total of 5-under par at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP so far.  His tee-to-green game and putting have been terrific having averaged +3.032 strokes gained total during the opening rounds.  Fleetwood is making the most of his visit to Chiba, Japan and has a 8.84% implied chance of winning at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club.

Cameron Tringale – $9,100:  Cameron Tringale displayed great form in Chiba, Japan when he shot 7-under par at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP during the opening rounds.  He demonstrated a good grasp on how to attack Accordia Golf Narashino County Club as he averaged +4.032 strokes gained total.  Tringale is in solo 2^nd place on the leaderboard and will hopefully remain in contention over the weekend while also racking up some Weekend Golf fantasy points at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

Also consider:

Joaquin Niemann – $9,600

Jhonattan Vegas – $9,400

 

Alex Noren – $8,700:  Alex Noren’s tee-to-green game and putting were solid during the opening rounds of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.  He is currently T7 while averaging +2.532 strokes gained total at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club.  If Noren can maintain his tee-to-green game and stay hot with the flat stick, then he could be in for a nice weekend in Chiba, Japan.

Matt Jones – $8,200:  Matt Jones is currently T7 at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club as of Friday afternoon and should be feeling confident about his game.  He shot a total of 4-under par during the first two rounds while averaging +2.532 strokes gained total.  Jones has made some nice runs over the weekend before so one at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP should not be out of the question.

Also consider:

Erik Van Rooyen – $8,300

Mackenzie Hughes – $8,000

 

Lanto Griffin – $7,800:  Lanto Griffin is currently T7 on the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP leaderboard heading into the weekend.  His $7.8k salary sets him up to be a chalky, but worthwhile Weekend Golf play over on DraftKings.  He is clearly playing quality golf right now at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club after shooting 4-under par thus far.  Griffin had a solid tee-to-green performance during the opening rounds and his putter was working for him as well.  Overall, he is averaging +2.532 strokes gained total so if he can maintain his tee-to-green and stay hot with the flatstick, then two more rounds in the 60s for Weekend Golf should be on the way…

Matt Wallace – $7,700:  Matt Wallace had his complete game working during the opening rounds of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.  He averaged +3.532 strokes gained total at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club.  He has a 7.74% implied chance of winning in Chiba, Japan and with only a $7,700 salary, Wallace just might be too good to pass up for Weekend Golf.

Brendan Steele – $7,500:  Brendan Steele is currently T3 heading into the weekend at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and makes for a solid Weekend Golf value play due to his respectable implied chance of winning the tournament (6.67%).  Simply put, oddsmakers do not think Steele will overtake Hideki Matsuyama for the win at Accordia Golf Narashino County Club, but he should maintain his scoring pace over the weekend and stay in the mix.  Steele simply needs to maintain his strong tee-to-green game and his putting (+3.532 SG: Total) to make that happen.  That would also translate into a good Weekend Golf fantasy score in Chiba, Japan.

Also consider:

Troy Merritt – $7,700

Luke List – $7,500

Sebastian Munoz – $7,400

James Hahn – $6,500

 

Good luck.

– Erik Dantoft

@edantoft on Twitter