Paulie’s Picks: 2020 Zozo Championship

The host of the Zozo Championship, Sherwood Country Club, served for years as the venue of Tiger Woods’s World Challenge, so long-time fans might feel some déjà vu this weekend. Sherwood is unusual for a PGA Tour course. It’s a par 72 measuring just over 7,000 yards, and it has five par 5s, five par 3s, and eight par 4s.

Partly because it’s relatively short, Sherwood favors the precision of tacticians over the brute force of bombers. Just consider the list of past champions here: Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, Luke Donald, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, and of course Tiger. So players who keep the ball in play off the tee and excel with irons and wedges inside 150 yards will have the best shot.

Here are a few players to consider for your fantasy leagues:

DraftKings

Patrick Reed $9,600

Quietly, Reed has finished 13th or better in five of his past seven events. Sherwood suits his savvy game well, and he makes a great pivot off of the very top tier of players. Reed is supremely well rounded: eighth in par-5 scoring, ninth from 125-50 yards, 10th around the greens, 11th in birdies, 16th from 100-25 yards, 17th in putting, and 20th off the tee.

Richy Werenski $6,300

Werenski is top 20 in two key metrics for the Zozo Championship: wedge proximity and par-5 scoring. Last week, he finished 28th at the CJ Cup, but he gained more than three strokes on approach, including over five feet per shot from 100-50 yards! Also, while he is just a slightly above-average putter in general, he is one of the best on bentgrass greens like those at Sherwood. At $6,300 in a no-cut event, Werenski lets you stack the rest of your roster with elite talent.

One-and-Done

Russell Henley

First in approach, first from 125-50 yards, second from 125-50 yards, and seventh in fairways, Henley is looking like an under-the-radar stud at Sherwood. Last week at Shadow Creek, he held the 54-hole lead and finished 3rd—his third top 10 in his past 5 starts.

Collin Morikawa

Since the restart, Morikawa has two victories and a playoff loss, and he comes into the Zozo Championship on the heels of a 12th-place finish at the CJ Cup. His game fits this course perfectly. He is third in fairways, fifth in approach, sixth from 125-50 yards, 10th from 100-25 yards, 10th in birdies, and 15th in par-5 scoring. He also tends to go from near the bottom of the PGA Tour to about average on bentgrass—and when Morikawa is at least average on the greens, look out.