Another week, another PGA betting event shifted from Asia to the United States – and like last week's event at Shadow Creek, the Zozo Championship at Sherwood has a star-studded field for golf bettors to choose from.
A 78-man field will descend upon Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for the second consecutive no-cut event – and this one should be even more entertaining than last week's event, with tournament host Tiger Woods joining a field that includes Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and last week's winner, Jason Kokrak. And with an extra Par-5 on this Par-72, 7,073-yard course, we should see this one decided by how players navigate those five holes.
We preview the field, break down the course and give our golf picks, predictions and best bets for the Zozo Championship.
Zozo Championship betting stats that matter
Bettors might be tempted to focus heavily on Par-5 performance when handicapping their picks for this tournament – and why not? It's rare to see a PGA Tour venue with five Par-5 holes, so players who excel in that area should be expected to perform well this week. But there are other categories to consider – especially given that this is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course, which demands superior iron play over everything else.
Driving accuracy and SG: Approach are the two biggest factors bettors should weigh at the Zozo Championship, with big-time rewards for precise shots into the green – and significant punishments for those who go astray. And with the course measuring just over 7,000 yards, accuracy becomes even more important this week – so keep those all-drive, no-irons players off your betting card entirely this week, as they'll likely struggle more than usual given this course setup.
Zozo Championship outright winner bets
Bettors have a buffet of contending golfers to choose from this weekend, with six players comprising the top tier: Rahm is the favorite at +1,000, followed by Schauffele (+1,100), McIlroy (+1,200), Thomas (+1,200), Webb Simpson (+1,800) and Collin Morikawa (+1,800).
Woods is prominently featured at +3,300 and should continue to see a healthy share of the handle, while CJ Cup champion Kokrak is installed at +5,000.
Who will win the Zozo Championship? Here's our best guess:
Justin Thomas Outright (+1,200)
Look who's ticked off! Thomas settled for a T12 at last week's event in Las Vegas and was supremely salty afterward, stumbling to a final-round 74 in which he gave away more than 1.1 strokes with his putter and struggled with both driving accuracy and greens in regulation.
It was a rare off-round for Thomas, who was made for Nicklaus-designed courses with pinpoint accuracy and terrific irons play. If he can sort out his putting issues, there isn't a better outright choice in the field.
Tiger Woods Outright (+3,300)
If you believe in home-course advantage, you absolutely need to set aside some bankroll for Tiger this week. Not only did he win this tournament last year when it was held in Chiba, Japan (and you know how Tiger likes to defend his titles), he has played his best golf at Sherwood CC.
Don't believe us? Consider his record in 11 tournaments recorded there (based on his PGA Tour profile): four wins, five second-place finishes, a fourth-place result and a 14th-place showing.
That's dominance.
Zozo Championship matchup predictions
English Over Henley/Janewattananood (+130)
We're skipping over largely unknown commodity Jazz Janewattnanood in this 3-ball prop and focusing solely on Harris English and Russell Henley, who are both solid lower-tier contenders this week. But we're leaning toward English, who has been terrific since the restart with nine Top-25 results in 12 tournaments. He's coming off a 10th-place finish at the CJ Cup despite opening with a 75, and you can expect a much better first round this week en route to converting this prop.
Tyrrell Hatton Over Hovland/Kodaira (+120)
Hatton has become a favorite in this space ever since he tore through the majority of events he played in 2020. A late-season hiccup drove down both his outright odds and overall bettor interest, but the latter should pick up again after he overcame a third-round stumble to post a T3 at the CJ Cup last week.
That result came on the heels of a dominant four-shot win at the European Tour's BMW Championship, proving that Hatton is back to the elite form he showed in 2019. He's worth a look here.
Zozo Championship prop bets
Joaquin Niemann Top 10 (+333)
If you're not as confident in Niemann's potential to finish inside the Top 10, you can roll with a Top-20 play at +120 and still secure great value. But we love how Niemann has fared in recent tournaments, having gained strokes in 11 of his previous 12 combined rounds played at the U.S. Open, Shriners Open and CJ Cup.
The field is a strong one, but Niemann's all-around game lends itself well to this course and he's one of the hottest golfers on tour at the moment.
Xander Schauffele Top 5 (+250)
Schauffele might not be at a Justin Thomas-level of frustration right now, but he has every right to be there. Schauffele has let one bad round keep him from winning several tournaments in recent months, and that trend continued last week as a third-round 74 negated a sensational opening 36 holes — he rallied for a final-round 66 but still had to settle for second place.
That said, Schauffele is strong with the irons and his putting game is sensational, so don't be surprised to see him in contention again this week.
Zozo Championship betting card
- Justin Thomas Outright (+1,200)
- Tiger Woods Outright (+3,300)
- English Over Henley/Janewattananood (+130)
- Tyrrell Hatton Over Hovland/Kodaira (+120)
- Joaquin Niemann Top 10 (+333)
- Xander Schauffele Top 5 (+250)
Where can I bet on PGA golf?
With PGA betting growing in popularity, pretty much all online sportsbooks will offer golf odds for the Zozo Championship. Check out our top listings page for the best sportsbooks available where you live and see what PGA Tour odds they have available.
