10 big players who can win the 2022 ZOZO championship

Hoge, 33, is making his third start this season after finishing 12^th at the Fortinet Championship and inside the top five at last week’s Shriners Children’s Open. That momentum is key for Hoge, who is making his second appearance at the ZOZO Championship after finishing 17^th last year, where he shot a 4-under 66 in the third round.

Hoge begins his first round on the 10^th tee at 6:29 p.m. PT on Wednesday with Cameron Champ and Martin Laird.

9. Keegan Bradley

Another player in his 30s cracks this list as 36-year-old Bradley comes in at No. 9.

Bradley, who is playing in his second event of the season this week in Japan, recorded a top-five finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago. The 2011 PGA Champion got going in the third round, firing an 8-under 64 to get near the lead before the final day.

One of the keys for Bradley this week will be his ball-striking abilities. He is one of the course record holders after carding a 7-under 63 in 2019 to help him finish tied for 13^th. The top 5 finish two weeks ago, on top of finishing inside the top 10 last year on this course gives Bradley his motivation for the week.

Bradley tees off with C.T. Pan and Naoyuki Kataoka on the first hole at 7:02 p.m. PT on Wednesday.

8. Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland is making his 2022-23 season debut this week after winning the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Mexico for his lone victory last season. Hovland also recorded a runner-up finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a fourth-place finish at the final major of the year, The Open Championship.

In addition, the Oklahoma State alum who brought a National Championship to Stillwater had success to close his season, finishing 15^th at the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago.

Hovland made his ZOZO Championship debut in 2019 when he shot -1 and finished 41^st overall. Since then, Hovland has had three years of PGA Tour experience and is looking to make the trip to Japan worthwhile with a victory.

7. Mito Pereira

Pereira is making his second start of the season after competing in the Shriners Children’s Open last week and the Presidents Cup for the International Team a few weeks ago.

Pereira did really well in Las Vegas last week, recording all four rounds in the 60s for a fourth-place finish. That momentum will be crucial for Pereira as the challenge for players  who played last week will be adjusting to the time difference as quickly as possible. Pereira tees off on the first hole at 6:18 p.m. PT on Wednesday with Maverick McNealy and Shugo Imahira.

6. Cameron Young

Young, who is making his PGA Tour season debut this week, had a successful 2021-22 season despite not recording a victory.

Young recorded five runner-up finishes and two third-place cards, including a second-place finish at The Open Championship in July. The 25-year-old, who finished 19th in the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago is looking to get into the winner’s circle, not only this week, but this season.

Young begins his first round on the 10^th tee with Hovland and Sepp Straka at 5:23 p.m. PT.

5. Collin Morikawa

Morikawa is making his first individual start on the PGA Tour this season after competing for Team USA at the Presidents Cup. Morikawa played three matches and went 2-1. He has played in this event in Japan twice. He finished 22^nd in his first appearance in 2019 and in seventh place last year.

The 25-year-old, who is already halfway to the career Grand Slam, is one of the top Americans in the field, coming in this week at No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Morikawa tees off with Mackenzie Hughes and Sebastian Munoz on the first hole at 6:29 p.m. PT on Wednesday.

4. Tom Kim

Last week, Kim made history after winning the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. That victory gave Kim his second career PGA Tour victory, joining Woods as the only two players with two PGA Tour wins before turning 21 years old.

In last week's tournament, Kim ranked third in greens in regulation. That will have to continue for the South Korean this week to win the ZOZO Championship.

3. Sungjae Im

Im, who is playing in his second individual event of the season this week, finished seventh overall at the Shriners Children’s Open and was on the losing side at the Presidents Cup a few weeks ago.

This is Im’s second appearance at the ZOZO Championship. He finished in third place in 2019. That year, Im started slowly with a 1-over 71 before finishing the tournament 64-67-65 to make the cut and climb the leaderboard for a strong finish.

Im tees off on the first hole with Kim and Cam Davis at 6:40 p.m. PT.  

2. Xander Schauffele

Schauffele is another player in the field making his individual season debut after securing the winning point for Team USA at the President’s Cup three weeks ago.

Schauffele, who is the highest-ranked player at the tournament in the Official World Golf Rankings at No. 6, finished fourth at the TOUR Championship a couple of months ago after winning three times last season.

1. Hideki Matsuyama, ZOZO Championship favorite

One of the favorites this week is the player playing in his home country, Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama, 30, has played on this course before, but it is his first appearance in this tournament.

The 2021 Masters Champion started the new season at the Fortinet Championship, where he tied for 25^th place. Can the support of his home country push Matsuyama to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday?

Matsuyama tees off with Schauffele and Tyrell Hatton at 5:34 p.m. PT on Wednesday