In-play golf betting tips: Preview and best bets for final round of the Zozo Championship
Martin Mathews looks ahead to the final round of the Zozo Championship where he's taking two against the field.
Golf betting tips: Zozo Championship final round
3pts win Viktor Hovland to win the Zozo Championship at 13/2 (Unibet)
1pt e.w Cameron Champ to win the Zozo Championship at 28/1 (Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3)
Heading into this week's ZOZO Championship in Japan the local focus laid squarely on home favourite Hideki Matsuyama. However, with the defending champion failing to mount a serious challenge to retain his title it is another player with Japanese heritage, Rickie Fowler, who has grabbed the headlines to date.
Fowler, whose grandfather was Japanese, has had well documented struggles in recent years, however he started the new season with a clean slate, returning to long-time swing coach Butch Harmon and changing his caddie. A sixth place at the Fortinet brought instant dividends and after missing the cut in Vegas last week he has pushed on again at Narashino CC to sit on 14-under through 54 holes with a slender one-shot lead heading into Sunday.
With soft conditions greeting the players this week the course has yielded plenty of birdies and Fowler has used a combination of strong approach play and a warm putter, particularly over the first two days, to get the job done so far.
The question now of course is can Fowler keep his foot on the pedal on Sunday to get the job done and post his first win since the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2019?
On that occasion Fowler held the 54-hole lead heading into Sunday and despite a blip in tricky conditions he was able to seal the deal. More recently the former PLAYERS champion held the 54-hole lead at last year's CJ Cup and after failing to close out on that occasion he holds a fairly uninspiring two from eight conversion record in this position.
Solid as his play has been this week, then, with his putter cooling down on Saturday, Fowler looks there to be shot at heading into Sunday, with nerves you must think playing a part.
Playing alongside the Californian and hoping to take advantage of any jitters from the leader are Keegan Bradley and Andrew Putnam.
Bradley holds sole second place heading into day four, one shot back on 13-under, and those who took Ben Coley’s pre-event advice to get on board will be hoping he can push on to victory.
A four-time winner on Tour, Bradley does not win often, his last victory coming four years ago in the BMW Championship, however when the former PGA champion does win he tends to win big. Bradley has played really strongly here on his two previous visits, is clearly a fan of the track, and if his putter cooperates on Sunday, as it has done so far this week, he has every chance.
Clearly, though, Bradley is not a serial winner and while I would naturally be delighted to be clutching a pre-event ticket he is not someone I am keen to side with at short odds now.
Putnam, who starts a further shot back on 12-under, has been playing some solid golf of late and having been on him in the desert last week a win here would be tough to swallow. The one-time PGA Tour winner is clearly trending towards a second title and at the odds today he is certainly the one who appeals the most to me of the final three-ball.
Bet Viktor
Ultimately, though, I can’t get away from the player who starts in fourth on 11-under, VIKTOR HOVLAND, and it is the Norwegian who I will side with.
Much has been made of the fact that Hovland is yet to win on US soil however he now has six wins to his name across the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour since early 2020, a period during which those above him on the leaderboard have not managed a win between them.
Two of Hovland's wins came at a similar time last year so he obviously enjoys his fall golf and having had a low-key spring after a bright start to 2022, he produced some more solid results towards the end of last season.
The last time Hovland was seriously in contention was of course at the Open Championship and as we know that didn’t end particularly well for him on Sunday. With that occasion being very much a learning curve for him in the biggest of events this challenge is much more in his wheelhouse and with his game, and his score, having improved every day this week – he hit all 18 greens on Saturday – he looks primed for a big finish.
Hovland closed out Saturday with an eagle three to boost his chances further and I am happy to jump on board at around the 6/1 mark.
Cameron could be Champ
A further shot Behind Hovland on 10-under we have the trio of CAMERON CHAMP, Maverick McNealy and Hayden Buckley and while the talented McNealy’s time will surely come soon it is the proven winner Champ who catches the eye.
Like Hovland he is another who enjoys his golf at this time of year having posted two wins in the fall and while he is prone to going missing for large parts of the season, when he does get in contention he certainly knows how to take his chance.
Champ has used his power this week to take advantage of the par-fives, posting two eagles so far, and while he has been pretty inaccurate off the tee he has found his share of greens.
With three each-way places on offer and question marks about the front three on the leaderboard, adding Champ gives us the two biggest threats to Fowler and Bradley and a strong chance of getting them beaten.
Posted at 1145 BST on 15/10/22
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
MOST READ
Next Off
Fixtures & Results
