ZOZO Championship at Sherwood First Round Leader Odds and Matchup Picks

• The ZOZO Championship at Sherwood tees off Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
• Jon Rahm is the slight favorite over Justin Thomas to be the first-round leader
• See the best bets and odds to grab the first-round lead plus tournament matchup picks in the article below 

The second installment of the ZOZO Championship will have a different venue from last year when Tiger Woods took home his 82nd career PGA Tour title at Narashino Country Club in Japan. This go around, the event is being staged at Sherwood Country Club in Lake Sherwood, California instead of traveling overseas due to COVID-19 safety protocols.

Eight of the top ten players in the world will be competing, minus Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau. Johnson withdrew for the second straight week after a positive COVID-19 result.

In this article, we’ll explore which players have the best chance of being the leader after day one at a course that hosted the Hero World Challenge from 2000-13, plus head-to-head tournament matchups.

2020 ZOZO Championship First Round Leader Odds

All odds taken Oct. 21 at FanDuel

The forecast looks beautiful with mostly sunny skies with a high of about 75 degrees and wind gusts only reaching ten miles per hour throughout the entire first round.

A benefit for those playing in the morning is the exact same as it is every week – less bumpy greens with fewer players chewing them up. However, with a limited no-cut field competing, there won’t be as many golfers, so the tee times range from just 9:50am to 12:02pm.

Tyrrell Hatton Firing On All Cylinders

Two weeks ago Tyrrell Hatton took home the European Tour’s prestigious BMW PGA Championship title. He then flew to Las Vegas for last week’s CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and jumped out in front with the first-round lead.

Tyrrell Hatton have a day man pic.twitter.com/IHSxuXJrj5

— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) October 15, 2020

That marks a stretch of six tournaments where he’s been in the top-25 in five of them, including a T-3rd finish last week at the CJ Cup. Sitting at +2600 odds to be first-round leader is appealing because all of the players ahead of him with shorter odds haven’t been playing as strongly as Hatton has of late, despite this epic club toss.

⚾️ @TyrrellHatton getting in on the @MLB bat (or club) flip trend. pic.twitter.com/OMbBm9T6Oh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 17, 2020

He gained a whopping eleven shots on the field tee-to-green at Shadow Creek, something that will bode well for him to make birdies in droves which could lead to a first-round lead yet against for the Englishmen.

Pick: Tyrrell Hatton (+2600)

Matthew Wolff Knows This Course Very Well

Heading into last week, Matthew Wolff was flying high, having finished in second place at the US Open and then mounting a furious weekend charge at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open to make it into a playoff, where he’d fall just short.

Eagle for Wolff. 🦅🐺@Matthew_Wolff spins it in from 115 yards to get to -13.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/i9cFJXxPR3

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 10, 2020

Then last week happened, and it wasn’t pretty. Out of a 78 man field, Wolff was somehow 73rd, letting down a lot of golf bettors. The good news is that in his first win on tour last year at the 3M Open, what preceded that event was a missed cut so he’s able to shake off a bad week in quick order.

20-year-old Matthew Wolff sinks the eagle for his first PGA Tour win!

(via @PGATOUR) pic.twitter.com/JoJCAZSvdR

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 7, 2019

Wolff grew up near the course and went to high school seven miles from Sherwood Country Club and has said he’s played it thousands of times. Before last week he was on a heater, so his +3700 odds to be first-round leader are very enticing given that he’s played here so often.

Pick: Matthew Wolff (+3700)

Viktor Hovland vs Patrick Cantlay Tournament Matchup Odds

Viktor Hovland has quietly been playing some strong golf, with 14 straight cuts made, despite just one top-10 during that span. The Norwegian sensation does have seven top-20 results during that time frame, including three in a row. He’s favored to defeat Patrick Cantlay head-to-head through 72 holes in this event.

Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay Last Five Common Tournaments

While Cantlay hasn’t been as strong as Hovland of late, he still has a top-10 in his last three starts. At first blush I expected to suggest picking Hovland in this matchup based on their recent head-to-head results, but in the last 50 rounds on bentgrass, which Sherwood Country Club has, Cantlay is first in total strokes gained of those competing this week.

Cantlay and Hovland’s Strokes Gained Ranks In Last 50 Rounds On Bentgrass

Cantlay has also been better in seven of eight strokes gained categories compared to Hovland during that time span, so he’s the man to back this week.

Pick: Patrick Cantlay (+100)