Collin Morikawa fixed something in his putting that helped him win again but he doesn’t want you to know

Morikawa has treated changes to his golf game during his winless streak like a state secret.

On Wednesday, ahead of the Zozo Championship in Japan, Collin Morikawa spent about 2 ½ hours on the putting green. That in itself isn’t unusual for a PGA Tour pro but on this particular occasion, Morikawa and his caddie JJ Jakovac found something that propelled him to one of his best putting weeks of the season and on Sunday when it mattered most, he couldn’t miss.

So, what did he find just hours before the tournament began that was the difference in helping him win for the first time on the PGA Tour since the 2021 British Open?

“Yeah, yeah, we found something and we’re going to stick to it,” he said. “Look, you never know whether it’s going to be right or wrong, but something was off. Something I just couldn’t figure out. JJ and I were just looking at each other very confused and trying a bunch of different things. You know, we weren’t changing too much, we were just trying to look at putts a different way.

“We stuck to it. It was nice to see putts roll in in the first round, and then that continued. Yeah, made a lot of putts this week, it was really nice.”

Sounds good, right, except Morikawa left out the details as to what he actually changed. Was it his grip, his alignment, using AimPoint or relying on his first instinct of his read? He didn’t share. So his questioner pushed for more and asked for any additional insights.

“No, no, nope,” Morikawa replied.

Next question.

Morikawa is never going to be confused for Rory McIlroy, who to our great delight may be an over-sharer. But this isn’t the first time this season that Morikawa has kept things close to the vest with a change he’s made, guarding it like a state secret. Back at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, he opened with 66 and was asked if he found something between playing in Hartford the week before.

“Yes, kind of,” he said. “I found probably the most important thing yesterday afternoon after my pro-am. It’s been a lot of work on the range, it’s been a lot of just playing on the course, seeing what the ball’s doing.

“Like I said, the good shots are good, so like it’s tough because like I can go hit five, 10 balls on the range, looks great and then you put it on the course and that’s where shots matter. It was something nice to find yesterday and kind of work from there. I won’t tell you, so…”

I was covering this event and I tried one more time.

“It’s in my golf swing,” he said, which did nothing to clear things up.

Given his reluctance to share, I tried a different tactic: Not asking you to tell me, but why do you not want to tell?

“Well, because it’s still a work in progress,” he explained, which is understandable, I suppose. “I think for me the swing thoughts and just basic things, like it’s nothing, it’s nothing complicated at all. Like, it is the least complicated thing.”

If it is the least complicated thing ever, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to share it with golfers who are always in search of their own fix.

One day later, after another good round, he was pressed for more details and answered, “It’s pretty simple, to be honest. I’m still not going to tell you, though.”

“I didn’t think you were,” I said.

“If I finish on top, I’ll tell you on Sunday, that’s a fair answer,” he said.

Unfortunately, he lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler and so his secret stayed under wraps.

A month later, at the Tour Championship, Morikawa surged into contention for the FedEx Cup trophy with an opening-round 61 and was asked by a reporter, “Is there something specific you found in your swing the last couple weeks that has allowed you to feel like you have so much control?”

“Yeah, we found it on Tuesday,” Morikawa responded, “and I’m not going to tell you.”

Morikawa re-upped that if he won, he would share the details Sunday with me but he faded on the weekend.

This time, however, he won and even in a jubilant mood still didn’t feel obliged to share with the reporters on hand.

C’mon, Collin – inquiring minds want to know.

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Winner’s bag: See Collin Morikawa’s golf equipment at the 2023 Zozo Championship

Check out the clubs that got the job done in Japan.

A complete list of the golf equipment Collin Morikawa used to win the PGA Tour’s 2023 Zozo Championship:

DRIVER: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamama D+ Limited 60TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade SIM (14 degrees), Stealth 2 (18 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80TX shafts

IRONS: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P7MC prototype (7-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Collin Morikawa’s irons” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/rQbxOQ”]

WEDGES: TaylorMade MG4 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Collin Morikawa’s wedges” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/q4Nqx5″]

PUTTER: TaylorMade TP Soto

BALL: TaylorMade TP5x

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Collin Morikawa’s golf balls” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/eKBGED”]

GRIPS: Golf Pride Z Grip / SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

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2023 Zozo Championship prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour.

Collin Morikawa is officially a $25-million man on the PGA Tour.

The 26-year-old shot the low round of the tournament on Sunday, a bogey-free 63 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club northeast of Tokyo, to win the Zozo Championship by six strokes.

Morikawa banked $1.53 million to boost his career earnings on the PGA Tour to $26,276,135. Morikawa had won five times in his first 39 starts as a pro on the Tour but had gone 46 starts without a win.

Beau Hossler and Eric Cole were both seeking their maiden Tour title but shot 70s and tied for second. It marked Hossler’s third career second-place finish and solidified his spot in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup Fall. Cole finished second for the second time this season. They both earned $748,000.

Defending champion Keegan Bradley finished T-19 while Japan favorite Hideki Matsuyama T-51 and fan favorite Rickie Fowler was T-64. Here’s a look at the final earnings.

2023 Zozo Championship prize money payouts

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Collin Morikawa -14 $1,584,000
T2 Eric Cole -8 $748,000
T2 Beau Hossler -8 $748,000
T4 RobbyShelton -7 $378,000
T4 Ryo Ishikawa -7 $378,000
T6 Kensei Hirata -6 $275,187.50
T6 Ryo Hisatsune -6 $275,187.50
T6 Min Woo Lee -6 $275,187.50
T6 J.J. Spaun -6 $275,187.50
T10 Emiliano Grillo -5 $221,000
T10 Justin Suh -5 $221,000
T12 Cam Davis -4 $178,200
T12 Sungjae Im -4 $178,200
T14 Satoshi Kodaira -4 $178,200
15 Matt NeSmith -3 $151,640
T16 Yuki Inamori -2 $133,960
T16 Kurt Kitayama -2 $133,960
T16 Taylor Montgomery -2 $133,960
T19 Keegan Bradley -1 $112,710
T19 Sahith Theegala -1 $112,710
T21 Aaron Baddeley E $73,610
T21 Akshay Bhatia E $73,610
T21 Will Gordon E $73,610
T21 Harry Hall E $73,610
T21 Lee Hodges E $73,610
T21 Keith Mitchell E $73,610
T21 Taylor Moore E $73,610
T21 Ryutaro Nagano E $73,610
T21 Aaron Rai E $73,610
T21 Nick Taylor E $73,610
T31 Young-han Song 1 $46,167.15
T31 Callum Tarren 1 $46,167.15
T31 Nicolai Hojgaard 1 $46,167.15
T31 Mikumu Horikawa 1 $46,167.15
T31 Mark Hubbard 1 $46,167.15
T31 Takumi Kanaya 1 $46,167.15
T31 Davis Riley 1 $46,167.15
T38 Zac Blair 2 $36,210
T38 Vincent Norrman 2 $36,210
T38 Xander Schauffele 2 $36,210
T41 Nick Hardy 3 $27,710
T41 Michael Kim 3 $27,710
T41 Nate Lashley 3 $27,710
T41 K.H. Lee 3 $27,710
T41 Justin Lower 3 $27,710
T41 Adam Scott 3 $27,710
T41 Adam Svensson 3 $27,710
T48 Tom Hoge 4 $23,707
T48 Mackenzie Hughes 4 $23,707
T48 Alex Noren 4 $20,230
T51 Thomas Detry 5 $17,743.75
T51 S.H. Kim 5 $17,743.75
T51 David Lipsky 5 $17,743.75
T51 Hideki Matsuyama 5 $17,743.75
T51 Keita Nakajima 5 $17,743.75
T51 Andrew Novak 5 $17,743.75
T51 Adam Schenk 5 $17,743.75
T51 Brandon Wu 5 $17,743.75
T59 Cameron Champ 6 $16,490
T59 Joel Dahmen 6 $16,490
T59 Sam Stevens 6 $16,490
T59 Dylan Wu 6 $16,490
T59 Kevin Yu 6 $16,490
T64 Rickie Fowler 7 $15,725
T64 Ben Griffin 7 $15,725
T64 Kaito Onishi 7 $15,725
T64 Sam Ryder 7 $15,725
T68 Austin Eckroat 8 $15,045
T68 Shugo Imahira 8 $15,045
T68 Matt Wallace 8 $15,045
T68 Trevor Werbylo 8 $15,045
72 Hayden Buckley 9 $14,620
T73 Aguri Iwasaki 10 $14,280
T73 David Lingmerth 10 $14,280
T73 Taiga Semikawa 10 $14,280
76 Tyson Alexander 11 $13,940
77 Ben Taylor 20 $13,770
Garrick Higgo WD

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Collin Morikawa ends two-year winless drought at PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship

“I had to really look back and ask myself what’s wrong? What’s the reason behind finishing 2nd or 5th versus a win?”

Collin Morikawa came to Japan this week with the simple goal of ending his winless drought in the country where his father’s parents grew up and cruised to a six-stroke victory with a bogey-free 7-under 63 on Sunday to win the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship.

“It feels so good,” Morikawa said. “I knew I was going to get here at some point but it’s like getting your first win or major. People start asking questions and asking why. I had to really look back and ask myself what’s wrong? What’s the why? What’s the reason behind finishing second or fifth versus a win? This win means the world.”

He claimed his sixth Tour title and first since the 2021 British Open. For Morikawa to do so at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, 25 minutes northeast of Tokyo, meant a great deal to the 26-year-old of Japanese (father’s side) and Chinese descent (mother’s side).

“I knew at the beginning of the week that the fans out here are obviously rooting for the Japanese players, but I like to count myself as a part Japanese player in that, so I felt the love,” he said.

ZOZO: Prize money | Winner’s bag

It had been 27 months since he hoisted a trophy, just under 24 months since the former Cal Bear notched his last worldwide victory at the 2021 DP World Tour Championship. Morikawa had recorded four runner-up finishes since his last trophy – including at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July – and 14 top-10s, tied with Tommy Fleetwood for the most top-10 finishes during the last two seasons.

Speaking on the eve of the tournament during a press conference, Morikawa said, “Here’s one last chance for the season to kind of come off and finish off on a high note. I know what my goal is and I know what I want to do and accomplish this week is really just stand up and find a way to win.”

Morikawa grabbed the lead on Thursday with a 64 but struggled to 73 in strong winds on Friday. After starting 3 over through four holes on Saturday, Morikawa trailed by as many as nine strokes before rallying with birdies on five of his last six holes to shoot 66.

Two shots back heading into Sunday, Morikawa said his mindset for the final round would be to get off to a hot start and he did just that. Morikawa made birdies at the third and three of the last four holes on the front nine to shoot 30 and build a three-stroke lead at 11 under as Justin Suh, who held his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, chunked a chip at the fourth and made his second straight bogey. He stumbled to a final-round 74. Beau Hossler and Eric Cole, who played alongside Suh in the final group, faltered as well. Morikawa tacked on a birdie at No. 12, holing a 15-foot putt, and at 15 and 18 to play his final 24 holes in 12 under. No one mounted a charge as Morikawa posted a 72-hole total of 14-under 266. Cole and Hossler both made birdies at the last to shoot 70 and tied for second, a stroke better than Robby Shelton (65) and Ryo Ishikawa (67).

2023 Zozo Championship
Collin Morikawa hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during the final round of the 2023 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

“The game felt very good,” Morikawa said. “Everything kind of clicked.”

Morikawa, who won twice in his first eight starts in the majors, had dipped from second in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 20 during his winless drought but managed to make the Tour Championship as one of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup the last two seasons and represent the U.S. in both the Presidents and Ryder Cups. He complained that he lost his trademark fade that removed the left side of the course from play but his version of a slump still was the equivalent of what most pros would call a banner season.

For Morikawa, it was a learning experience that appears will only make him stronger in the years to come. Speaking at the Tour Championship in August about what he’s taken away from the last two seasons, he said, “I just love golf. I mean, it’s been frustrating, but I truly love it. Because when you’re in positions like this, when you’re able to put yourself in contention, whether it’s one round or two rounds or four rounds, that I just, I know I love being in these positions.”

Especially when he comes out on top as he did in impressive fashion at the Zozo Championship.

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2023 Zozo Championship Sunday tee times, how to watch

Everything you need to know for the Zozo Championship.

Fifty-four holes of the 2023 Zozo Championship have come and gone and Justin Suh holds the solo lead at 9 under. Suh fired a 3-under 67 around Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on Saturday and will look to claim in his first PGA Tour win in Chiba, Japan, on Sunday.

Beau Hossler and Eric Cole are tied for second at 8 under and, like Suh, are searching for their first Tour wins. Collin Morikawa, who hasn’t won since the 2021 Open, is alone in fourth at 7 under.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the final round of the 2023 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. All times listed are ET.

(Note: Final round tee times will begin Saturday night in the United States)

Sunday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
7:15 p.m.
Zac Blair, Callum Tarren, Xander Schauffele
7:26 p.m.
Tom Hoge, Sam Ryder, Rickie Fowler
7:37 p.m.
Vincent Norrman, Nicolai Hojgaard, Takumi Kanaya
7:48 p.m.
Taylor Moore, Keegan Bradley, Mikumu Horikawa
7:59 p.m.
Nick Taylor, Keith Mitchell, Akshay Bhatia
8:10 p.m.
Will Gordon, David Lipsky, Taylor Montgomery
8:21 p.m.
Harry Hall, Sahith Theegala, Lee Hodges
8:32 p.m.
Sungjae Im, Robby Shelton, Min Woo Lee
8:43 p.m.
Justin Lower, Kensei Hirata, Ryo Hisatsune
8:54 p.m.
Cam Davis, Yuki Inamori, Matt NeSmith
9:05 p.m.
Kurt Kitayama, Ryo Ishikawa, J.J. Spaun
9:16 p.m.
Collin Morikawa, Emiliano Grillo, Satoshi Kodaira
9:27 p.m.
Justin Suh, Eric Cole, Beau Hossler

10th tee

Tee time Players
7:15 p.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ
7:26 p.m.
Ben Griffin, Young-han Song, Andrew Novak
7:37 p.m.
S.H. Kim, Aaron Rai, Nate Lashley
7:48 p.m.
Ryotano Nagano, Joel Dahmen, Michael Kim
7:59 p.m.
Hideki Matsuyama, Brandon Wu, Adam Scott
8:10 p.m.
Kevin Yu, Nick Hardy, Keita Nakajima
8:21 p.m.
Davis Riley, Dylan Wu, Adam Schenk
8:32 p.m.
Mark Hubbard, K.H. Lee, Thomas Detry
8:43 p.m.
Hayden Buckley, Matt Wallace, Alex Noren
8:54 p.m.
Tyson Alexander, Austin Eckroat, Adam Svensson
9:05 p.m.
David Lingmerth, Shugo Imahire, Kaito Onishi
9:16 p.m.
Aguri Iwasaki, Sam Stevens, Trevor Werbylo

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. There is no PGA Tour Live coverage of the 2023 Zozo Championship.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

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Justin Suh seeks first win, Collin Morikawa bounces back and more from Saturday at the 2023 Zozo Championship

Catch up on the action here.

The first three rounds of the 2023 Zozo Championship are in the books and one man sits alone atop the leaderboard.

After a third-round 3-under 67, Justin Suh leads by one at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan.

Beau Hossler and Eric Cole are tied for second at 8 under and all three players are looking for their first wins on the PGA Tour. Hossler followed up his Friday 65 with a 1-under 69 on Saturday, while Cole bounced back from a 1-over 71 with a 4-under 66.

Defending champion Keegan Bradley (67-70-73) is even par for the week and is tied for 21st.

Here’s everything you need to know from the third round of the Zozo Championship.

2023 Zozo Championship Saturday tee times, how to watch

Everything you need to know for the Zozo Championship.

There’s a new name on top of the leaderboard in Japan heading to the weekend.

Scoring was more difficult Friday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, though not for Beau Hossler, who fired a 5-under 65 to take the lead at 7 under following two days of play. Eighteen-hole leader Collin Morikawa shot 3 over on Friday and sits at 3 under for the tournament.

Justin Suh is a shot back of Hossler with Satoshi Kodaira sitting two behind.

Being that there were only 78 players in the field, there was not a cut this week. However, only 77 players advanced to the weekend after Garrick Higgo withdrew Friday.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2023 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. All times listed are ET.

(Note: Third round tee times will begin Friday night in the United States)

Saturday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
7:30 p.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Mackenzie Hughes, Lee Hodges
7:41 p.m.
Davis Riley, Min Woo Lee, David Lingmerth
7:52 p.m.
Kurt Kitayama, Hayden Buckley, Nicolai Hojgaard
8:03 p.m.
Nick Taylor, Andrew Novak, Brandon Wu
8:14 p.m.
Keith Mitchell, S.H. Kim, Justin Lower
8:25 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Taylor Moore, Nate Lashley
8:36 p.m.
Kensei Hirata, Ryo Hisatsune, Sahith Theegala
8:47 p.m.
Zac Blair, Callum Tarren, Joel Dahmen
8:58 p.m.
Ryo Ishikawa, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im
9:09 p.m.
Keegan Bradley, Robby Shelton, Mikumu Horikawa
9:20 p.m.
Eric Cole, J.J. Spaun, Cam Davis
9:31 p.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Yuki Inamori, Xander Schauffele
9:42 p.m.
Beau Hossler, Justin Suh, Satoshi Kodaira

10th tee

Tee time Player
7:30 p.m.
Will Gordon, Matt NeSmith, Ben Griffin
7:41 p.m.
Young-han Song, Vincent Norrman, Dylan Wu
7:52 p.m.
David Lipsky, Taylor Montgomery, Harry Hall
8:03 p.m.
Cameron Champ, Adam Scott, Takumi Kanaya
8:14 p.m.
Aaron Rai, Kevin Yu, Tyson Alexander
8:25 p.m.
Tom Hoge, Nick Hardy, Sam Ryder
8:36 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Ryutaro Nagano, K.H. Lee
8:47 p.m.
Michael Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Detry
8:58 p.m.
Taiga Semikawa, Matt Wallace, Adam Schenk
9:09 p.m.
Mark Hubbard, Trevor Werbylo, Alex Noren
9:20 p.m.
Shugo Imahira, Kaito Onishi, Austin Eckroat
9:31 p.m.
Keita Nakajima, Adam Svensson, Aguri Iwasaki
9:42 p.m.
Sam Stevens, Ben Taylor

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. There is no PGA Tour Live coverage of the 2023 Zozo Championship.

Friday, Oct. 20

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

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Beau Hossler’s low round among 5 things you missed from round 2 at 2023 Zozo Championship

“That was one of the windiest rounds of golf I’ve had all year, for sure. That was tough.”

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo says the secret to Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan is the weather.

“If it’s good weather,” he said, “I enjoy playing out here.”

Well, the sun was shining again in the Land of the Rising Sun but Mother Nature drew up tricky conditions on Friday that were no treat. Grillo and many of the players in the 78-man field were left blowing in the wind.

“The last nine, 10 holes, I just had to grind really hard,” said Grillo, who was pleased to shoot 1-over 71.

Blustery conditions made it the type of the day that separates the men from the boys during the second round of the Zozo Championship in Arazai, 25 minutes northeast of Tokyo in the Chiba Prefecture.

“That was one of the windiest rounds of golf I’ve had all year, for sure. That was tough,” said Cam Davis. “I hit my shortest drive of the year probably by 40 yards on the last hole. I can remember the last time I hit driver, driver on a par-4 and still came up short of the green.”

Former Tour pro Graham DeLaet, who is serving as Golf Channel’s lead analyst this week, said, “You know it’s windy when your chips are being affected by it. Those are the days if you’re playing your home golf course you just take the day off.”

Only 13 players in the field managed to break par and Ben Taylor signed for 84 lifting the Round 2 scoring average to 72.45, or almost three strokes higher than Round 1. But the wind didn’t seem to bother American Beau Hossler, who shot the low round of the day, a 65, to improve to 7-under 133 and grab a one-stroke lead at the midway point.

“Playing in whatever, easily 20- to 30-mile an hour winds today was certainly a challenge,” Hossler said. “I’d say anything under par was a really quality score, so to shoot 5 under par was incredible.”

“It just kind of kept on gusting,” added Justin Suh, who was a stroke behind Hossler after 36 holes. “You’d get one every five minutes that would come like 40 miles an hour and it was pretty insane.”

With a forecast for high winds, the PGA Tour staff didn’t cut the greens between rounds in hopes of slowing the speed and for good reason.

“It was very necessary,” Suh said.

Three converted par 5s into par 4s – Nos. 4, 9 and 12 – played into a southwest wind direction meaning all of them played dead into the wind, making par a good score. “I tried to take the attitude that a four was like a birdie on those holes,” Hossler said.

But the conditions got the better of Hideki Matsuyama, who made consecutive double bogeys and ballooned to 76, and first-round leader Collin Morikawa who shot 3-over 73.

“It was definitely a grind,” Suh said.

Here are four more things to know about the second round of the Zozo Championship.

2023 Zozo Championship Friday tee times, how to watch

Everything you need to know for the Zozo Championship.

The first round has come and gone in Japan, but there’s a familiar name on top of the leaderboard.

Collin Morikawa paces the field after a bogey-free 6-under 64 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. He holds a one-shot lead over five golfers, including European Ryder Cupper Nicolai Hojgaard and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year candidate Eric Cole.

Defending champion Keegan Bradley shot 3-under 67, and he’s T-8, along with Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, Xander Schauffele and Joel Dahmen. Hideki Matsuyama shot 1 under, and Rickie Fowler, who finished runner-up last year, is 1 over.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2023 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. All times listed are ET.

(Note: Second round tee times will begin Thursday night in the United States)

Thursday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
7:45 p.m.
Ben Griffin, Justin Suh, Kensei Hirata
7:56 p.m.
Hayden Buckley, Ben Taylor, Young-han Song
8:07 p.m.
Nick Taylor, J.J. Spaun, Tom Hoge
8:18 p.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Davis Riley, Garrick Higgo
8:29 p.m.
Michael Kim, Sam Ryder, Dylan Wu
8:40 p.m.
David Lipsky, Andrew Novak, Ryataro Nagano
8:51 p.m.
Satoshi Kodaira, Zac Blair, Harry Hall
9:02 p.m.
Brandon Wu, Thomas Detry, Taiga Semikawa
9:13 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Champ, Ryo Ishikawa
9:24 p.m.
K.H. Lee, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott
9:35 p.m.
Taylor Moore, Kurt Kitayama, Xander Schauffele
9:46 p.m.
Eric Cole, Will Gordon, Takumi Kanaya
9:57 p.m.
S.H. Kim, Sam Stevens, Justin Lower

10th tee

Tee time Player
7:45 p.m.
Alex Noren, Tyson Alexander, Shugo Imahira
7:56 p.m.
Beau Hossler, Nicolai Hojgaard, Ryo Hisatsune
8:07 p.m.
Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, Kaito Onishi
8:18 p.m.
Vincent Norrman, Nick Hardy, Cam Davis
8:29 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama
8:40 p.m.
Taylor Montgomery, Min Woo Lee, Keita Nakajima
8:51 p.m.
David Lingmerth, Callum Tarren, Yuki Inamori
9:02 p.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Robby Shelton, Mikumu Horikawa
9:13 p.m.
Matt Wallace, Mackenzie Hughes, Joel Dahmen
9:24 p.m.
Lee Hodges, Adam Svensson, Adam Schenk
9:35 p.m.
Nate Lashley, Keith Mitchell, Austin Eckroat
9:46 p.m.
Mark Hubbard, Matt NeSmith, Aguri Iwasaki
9:57 p.m.
Aaron Rai, Kevin Yu, Trevor Werbylo

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. There is no PGA Tour Live coverage of the 2023 Zozo Championship.

Thursday, Oct. 19

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

Friday, Oct. 20

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Golf Channel/Peacock: 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

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Several big-name pros explain why they flew to Japan to play in PGA Tour’s 2023 Zozo Championship

Sushi, family ties, guaranteed money and the chance to end winless streaks top the list.

Collin Morikawa is of Japanese heritage and has traveled to the homeland of his ancestors before, but his trip to compete in the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in Chiba, Japan, began with a special treat – dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the first sushi restaurant in the world to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide, where the omakase tasting menu is served at the counter with just 10 seats and is determined in the morning each day by famed chef Jiro Ono, whose story was made famous in the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”

“I almost don’t want to have sushi again because it was that special,” Morikawa said during a pre-tournament press conference Wednesday. “Chef Jiro was actually making the sushi for us, which made it even that much more special. Just being able to get that reservation, going there, sitting down. … you have about 30 minutes to eat the food. Man, I don’t know how to explain it other than it just being an incredible experience and an honor to be there sitting in front of him and witnessing just talent, right? It’s artwork.”

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Morikawa, a two-time major winner and ranked 20th in the world, is one of several big-name talents with Japanese ties competing this week at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in a 78-man field with no cut and co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour.

Zozo: Thursday tee times, how to watch | Photos

While the other six FedEx Fall events largely are a battle royale to determine who finishes in the top 125 and keeps a Tour card for the 2024 season – with some battling to finish between Nos. 51-60 and earn an exemption into the first two signature events of the new year – the Zozo is a field that consists of 11 members of the Japan Golf Tour and 17 players in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup points list, who can’t improve their status for 2024.

Morikawa, who competed on the U.S. side in the Ryder Cup, is playing this week at what he calls “one of my favorite places in the world to be,” and is planning a multi-week trip in Asia with his wife on the back end. But first and foremost it’s a business trip for Morikawa, who is winless since the 2021 British Open.

2023 Zozo Championship
Collin Morikawa of the United States speaks in a press conference ahead of the Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club on October 18, 2023 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

“At the end of the day I want to win and I just haven’t been able to close that out yet and finish that off. Here’s one last chance for the season to kind of come off and finish off on a high note,” he explained. “I know what my goal is and I know what I want to do and accomplish this week is really just stand up and find a way to win.”

He’s not alone in that desire. Xander Schauffele, whose mother, Ping Yi, was born in Chinese Taipei but grew up in Japan from the age of 2, already saw his grandparents Sunday when he arrived and spent some time with them Monday morning before getting back to work. He’s one of five players in the field that has competed at the Zozo Championship in each years since its inception.

“Coming to Japan is pretty simple for me. I have family here and to be able to sort of split the workload and seeing my grandparents is really cool, I wouldn’t pass that up for anything,” said Schauffele, who is No. 6 in the world but hasn’t hoisted a trophy this season either. “Of course, I’m still chasing a win this season and only have a few opportunities left to get that done. Winning is a very important thing and sort of how our careers are judged, and I wasn’t able to win, but the season isn’t over yet.”

Schauffele made his professional debut in Japan in 2018 at a Japan Golf Tour event and still savors the experience, though it didn’t go as planned.

“I shot a pair of 76s or 77s, missed the cut by a landslide,” he said. “I remember hitting a lot of balls OB and just struggling to get my feet grounded playing in my first pro start.”

But Schauffele’s greatest success to date also happened in Japan when he won the gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“It kind of gets better as time goes on,” he said. “I can hear people in Japanese saying, ‘Oh, there’s a gold medalist’ when I walk by, so it’s pretty cool.”

Rickie Fowler’s middle name, Yutaka, comes from his maternal grandfather, who is Japanese, and he has always supported the Zozo event, which will be his lone start during the FedEx Fall. Last year, he finished second and it kick-started a comeback campaign capped off by a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, his first title in more than four years.

2023 Zozo Championship
Rickie Fowler of the United States lines up a putt on the first green ahead of the Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club on October 18, 2023 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

“That was one that kind of helped me build some confidence and momentum going into what was a little bit of an offseason and really helped propel me to play some good golf this year,” he said.

Hideki Matsuyama, who won this event in his homeland in 2021 and finished second to Tiger Woods in 2019, leads the Japanese contingent in the field after a two-month layoff.

“The first month I really took it easy,” said Matsuyama, who hasn’t played since he withdrew before teeing off in the second of the BMW Championship in August citing a back injury. “It’s been a long time since I took that much time off, but the last month I’ve been working hard getting my game back in shape and I feel good about heading into this week.”

Matsuyama hasn’t won since the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii, but that isn’t as long as Aussie Adam Scott, who has lifted a trophy 14 times on the Tour but none since the 2020 Genesis Invitational.

“I’ve got lots of different goals, I guess, but really to sum that up, I want to get back in the winner’s circle on Tour,” said Scott, who has been a consistent competitor in Japan throughout his career and competed in the Japan Open last week. “I feel like I still have the game to compete on Tour and be a winner. I’d like to kind of start here this week, but let’s keep that going in ’24, too.”

The FedEx Fall may not have the same cache as the regular season but even for these big names, winning still matters.