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Matsuyama, Schauffele and Morikawa commit to ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Tournament officials confirmed today that Japan’s home hero and reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama has committed to play in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba from October 21-24, 2021. Joining Matsuyama in the field will also be Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Xander Schauffele, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and fan favourites, Tommy Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler.

Travis Steiner, Executive Director of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, said: “We are excited to welcome five of the most exciting and recognisable stars from the PGA TOUR to our tournament next month. As we welcome the return of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP to Japan this year after being played in the U.S. last year, their presence and star power will help deliver a week of world-class golf and put the spotlight on Japan’s only TOUR tournament. All five golfers have achieved so much success in their careers and I am confident they will put on a great show to entertain sports fans in Japan and around the world.”

The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, which features a $9.95 million purse, will showcase a 78-man field who will compete over four rounds with no cut. As Japan’s first official PGA TOUR event, the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was successfully launched at Narashino in 2019 when Tiger Woods claimed the inaugural title with a three-shot victory over Matsuyama en route to equalling Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA TOUR victories. In 2020, the event was moved to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic where Patrick Cantlay secured a one-shot win at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California for the first of four victories during a standout 2020-21 PGA TOUR season in which he won the TOUR’s ultimate prize, the FedExCup.

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