ZOZO Championship 2024 Tips: Dave Tindall's picks from 35/1 to 75/1

• 55/156.00 Gary Woodland is coming into good form again

• 75/176.00 Ryo Hisatsune has a strong record at Narashino

• 35/136.00 Beau Hossler is in form and was runner-up in 2023

It's time for the PGA Tour to head to the Far East again as Collin Morikawa - the joint-top scorer at the Presidents Cup - defends his ZOZO Championship crown in Japan.

The three leading protagonists in the field this week - Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama - all have Japanese heritage and connections. Matsuyama won this by five in 2021.

Narashino Country Club, which opened in 1965, also remains the scene of Tiger Woods' latest (and final?) PGA Tour win in 2019.

The parkland course is a composite of the King and Queen layouts and ends up as a 7,079-yard par 70 with five par 3s and three par 5s.

Stats have been sketchy down the years and no ShotLink data exists. But we do have some standard figures.

Morikawa was third for Greens In Regulation last year while the top five finishers had Putting Average rankings of 2-4-14-3-17.

Keegan Bradley was also third for GIR while being prominent in the PA stats (sixth) when winning in 2022.

And although no stats were recorded in 2021, the theme continues as Tiger ranked third for GIR and second for Putting Average in 2019.

The field is limited to just 78 players and there is no cut.

Back Gary Woodland @ 55/156.00

Gary Woodland has had some tough times over the last year and said he feared for his life after needing surgery to partially remove a tumour from his brain.

Understandably, it's taken him a while to find his feet again but, more and more, there are signs of the great golf that helped him win the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach.

In two Fall Series starts, Woodland has finished 16th in the Sanderson Farms Championship and ninth in last week's Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas.

Given what's required this week in terms of strong iron play, it stands out that he found over 80% of greens in regulation in both events, ranking third and 11th respectively for GIR.

In the more modern metric, Woodland was second and fifth for SG: Approach in those two tournaments.

Speaking in Vegas he said: "I've been playing well the last month really, so it's been nice.

"Everything is starting to come together. I feel a lot better for one. That's a huge help.

"But I've seen some signs. I've been back with Randy Smith for a couple months now. I am starting to drive it better, iron play, controlling the golf ball like I haven't in a long time, which is nice.

"Then putts start going in, start putting some good scores up."

Ah, yes, the putter. That hasn't quite been coming along for the ride but in Vegas he ranked 16th for SG: Putting so hopefully he's turning a corner there.

Just expressing the idea that putts are falling is a positive and the stats back it up.

Woodland has always been a good traveller too which boosts his chances here.

He's only played this event once but made a mark, shooting 64-66-68-70 to finish fifth the year Tiger won.

The American is also a two-time runner-up at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and was fifth the last time he played it.

If Woodland's upturn continues, the 55/156.00 will look generous and a victory for the 40-year-old would continue another theme here as every ZOZO winner at Narashino has been a major champion.

Back Ryo Hisatsune @ 75/176.00

In the previous edition of this event, locals made an impact. Ryo Ishikawa finished tied fourth while Kensei Hirata and Ryo Hisatsune posted tied sixth.

At the prices, Hisatsune is the one that interests me most this time. As well as making the top six last year, the Japanese golfer was 12th in 2022 so he definitely knows how to score on this course. Still only 22, he's already made a real mark.

Last September he was an excellent two-shot winner at the Open de France (sixth in GIR, seventh for PA that week) and that helped him win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the DP World Tour.

He's been patchy in 2024 but there are notable finishes: 18th on his US PGA Championship debut and third in August's Wyndham Championship.

Hisatsune struggled on his return to Europe after that top three at Sedgefield but then bounced back with a top 25 in the Black Desert Championship on his latest start.

He was 17th for Greens In Regulation in Utah having also hit his irons well (83.3% GIR) in the Sanderson Farms where he shot 70-69 but missed the cut.

The potential is huge and third place in the Wyndham shows he can challenge at this level. Add in some home advantage and a liking for the course and we could be in business at 75s.

Back Beau Hossler @ 35/136.00

There are seven each-way places up for grabs this week. It could well be that Schauffele, Morikawa and Matsuyama clog up three of them. Perhaps Sungjae Im too.

But we still have some scope and I'd be kicking myself if Beau Hossler gets in amongst it as 35/136.00 is a workable each-way price.

Hossler is in fine nick having produced form of 2-11-23 in the last three Fall Series events.

The Sanderson Farms runner-up ranked sixth for GIR in Las Vegas where he saved his best until last with a pair of 66s on the weekend. On current form alone, he's of interest here as he chases that elusive first win.

But Hossler brings plenty of course form to the table too. The 29-year-old Texas resident was 16th on his ZOZO debut and then tied for second 12 months ago.

Quite simply, Hossler loves the tournament and he loves Japan.

"This is an awesome place. I really liked playing last year, I was excited to come back," he said last year.

"It's a really cool week for us off the course, incredible food, incredible host facility. The fans here are world class and seem to really like golf and are educated about golf. They seem to really enjoy having us here this week, so it's really special for us to be here."

After ranking second for SG: Putting at the Shriners, he brings a hot putter too so the pieces are in place for another title challenge.

Now read Steve Rawlings' Genesis Championship preview here