ZOZO Championship 2024 First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 50/1 to 55/1

• 50/151.00 Rickie Fowler, a past runner-up here, is finding form

• 50/151.00 Gary Woodland is a former first-round leader here

• 55/156.00 Andrew Putnam shot a 62 here when second in 2022

Weather forecast for Thursday

A reduced field of 78 already lessens the chance of a draw bias and the 26 three-balls all tee off (from 1 and 10) between 08.45 and 10.57 local.

The weather for that shortened golfing day is consistent too with temperatures in the mid-70s and winds from 6-9mph.

In other words, let's pick freely with no leaning towards a particular tee-time.

Rickie Fowler @ 50/151.00

There are definitely some better things going on in Rickie Fowler's game after a disappointing season.

Eight straight rounds in the 60s since he returned after nearly two-and-a-half months off helped him finish 16th in the Sanderson Farms and 23rd at last week's Shriners.

In the latter he opened with a 66 and I'm going to back him for another quick start here.

This is a man who posted a 62 on day one of the 2023 US Open - the joint-lowest score ever shot in a major.

More recently, a 64 put him second after round one of June's Travelers Championship while a week later he fired an opening 66 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic bid to sit fourth.

At this event, Fowler was the 36 and 54-hole leader in 2022 after starting out 67-63-66. A closing 70 saw him finish runner-up.

Always a special place for him given that his maternal grandfather is Japanese, Fowler looks a good bet at 50s.

Gary Woodland @ 50/151.00

I've gone for Gary Woodland in my outright preview and am just as keen on him in this market too.

Specifically for round one, Woodland's return to form over the last couple of months has shown itself in a couple of fast starts.

In the 3M Open at the end of July, a Thursday 66 put him sixth and he bettered that with an opening 64 at the Sanderson Farms earlier this month, ending the first 18 holes in third.

Woodland, who posted ninth in Las Vegas on Sunday (R1 66) , has played this event just once but back in 2019 he emerged as the first-round leader thanks to a 64. He finished fifth that week.

He's also a two-time runner-up at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia so Woodland's combination of form and liking for the Far East can hopefully result in a fast start.

Andrew Putnam @ 55/156.00

Andrew Putnam certainly has good memories of Narashino Country Club after finishing runner-up on his previous visit there in 2022.

"This course feels a lot like home, northwest golf. Obviously the clouds, I'm used to that, a lot of trees, and greens are rolling really smooth, so feel pretty comfortable out here," said the man from Washington (the one at the top of the north-west coast).

Putnam had just shot a 62 in round two when he uttered those words so can certainly go low here where his straight rather than power hitting is rewarded.

As for getting down to business early, he's opened with a round in the 60s in each of his last eight tournaments while he arrives in Japan after a closing 64 in Las Vegas which helped him finish 16th.

Putnam, a 55/156.00 chance, tees off at 10.02 local from the 10th. As for the other two picks, Fowler hits away at 10.24 and Woodland at 09.29, both from the 1st tee.

Now read Dave Tindall's outright ZOZO Championship preview here