The fourth stop of the FedEx Fall event lacked a lot of big names. But take care, for the upcoming event sure does sport a lot of top golfers in its field. And while J.T. Poston might have dominated the field last week at TPC Summerlin, he might find it a bit hard to do the same at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. The reason? It’s all thanks to the impressive field of the 2024 Zozo Championship.

That’s not all. The competition will also be an exciting one because of the benefits that it provides its winners. What are they, you might ask. Well, the upcoming FedEx Fall tournament, aside from the obvious title of champ and the glory associated with it, also provides a cut of the $8.5 million purse to its golfers. And this has caused many to come forward to claim the victory at the same time.

Top picks at the 2024 Zozo Championship

78 golfers are there in the field at the 2024 Zozo Championship, as per the PGA Tour records. Many of them are part of the list, owing to their position on the current season’s FedEx Cup points list, while the rest got in via other means, including sponsor exemptions and being members of the Japan Golf Tour, among others. But only one among them will clinch the trophy in Japan.

1. Collin Morikawa: 14-under 266. That is how the 27-year-old managed to emerge victorious last year in Japan. Needless to say, he will surely hope to defend his title of champion going into the same this year around. Although he hasn’t managed to emerge triumphant once this season, the PGA Tour Pro does boast a total of 8 top-10 finishes, including two runner-up placements, one of which came at the Memorial Tournament and the other at the TOUR Championship. Will he be able to defend his title? His fans would surely look forward to him doing it!

2. Xander Schauffele: Possibly the best PGA Tour Pro of the season after Scottie Scheffler. Do you want to know the reason? Well, do take a quick look at his stats for the year on the men’s circuit, and you will be able to spot quite an impressive figure of 15 top-10 finishes, one short of Scheffler’s. And out of the same, two of the wins came at majors, the PGA Championship and the Open at Royal Troon, while three of them were T2 placements. It appears the success he raked in during the regular season wasn’t enough to quench his thirst, seeing as he is teeing off at the Zozo Championship!

3. Sahith Theegala: Even though the 26-year-old hasn’t managed to claim any wins yet this season, his stats do showcase how much of a remarkable season he had in 2024. Aside from the two runner-up finishes in 2024, the athlete also boasts 7 other top-10 placements, the latest of which came at the Procore Championship when he placed T7. What’s more, he would be looking to claim his second PGA Tour win as well since his first win came back in 2023, at the Fortinet Championship.

4. Hideki Matsuyama: Remember the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship? Well, the Japanese pro wouldn’t. Because that victory is what he would be aiming to replicate in his country at the Zozo Championship. Moreover, the athlete was also able to win the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, not to mention finish at the top at the Genesis Invitational. The 1-time major champ has a very good chance of beating the 78 golfers in the field while enjoying home country advantages. But will he claim the win? Do keep an eye out.

5. Sungjae Im: The current No. 22 in the world will also hope to claim his first win of the season at the Zozo Championship. Yes, you read that right! He wasn’t able to emerge victorious once on the PGA Tour despite boasting a total of 8 top-10 finishes this season. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t successful at all. Enter the Woori Financial Group Championship. The South Korean athlete had managed to top the scoreboard at the Korean PGA event. He’ll be looking to do the same at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.

FedEx Fall’s test for PGA Tour Pros in Japan

2024 will be the third time in four years that the Jay Monahan-led circuit will arrive at the iconic course in Japan for a PGA Tour event. Designed by Kinya Fujita, the grounds were officially opened to the public in 1965 as a par-70 grounds. It consists of nine holes each from the club’s King Course and Queen Course, including five par-4s and three par-5 holes.

The five par-4s measuring 486 yards or longer had proven to be the most difficult among the 18 holes back in the 2023 edition of the Zozo Championship. Moreover, you would also be able to find two greens in every one of these 18 layouts at the grounds in Japan. And each edition of the event, till now, has featured one second green open, with it coming off the par-4, 4th in 2019.

Keeping all of these aside, who among these men do you think would come out on top at the Zozo Championship? Or do you have someone else in mind?