Japan's Zozo Championship moves to California

Updated

Published

Sep 02, 2020, 05:00 AM

TOKYO • The Zozo Championship, which was memorably won by Tiger Woods last year, has been moved to California because of coronavirus restrictions and has effectively wiped out this year's Asian swing of the PGA Tour, organisers announced yesterday.

The event was scheduled to take place at the Narashino Country Club in Chiba prefecture, but will now be held at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, from Oct 22-25 behind closed doors.

It will again comprise an elite field of 78, but the purse has been reduced from US$9.5 million (S$12.9 million) to US$8 million.

Zozo is Japan's first PGA Tour event, launching last year to great fanfare. Woods, playing in the country for the first time since 2006, led from gun to tape to earn a three-stroke victory over local favourite Hideki Matsuyama.

The win also saw the 15-time Major champion tie the all-time mark of 82 Tour titles held by fellow American Sam Snead.

But with leading players based in the United States and the postponed Masters due to take place at Augusta in November, the PGA Tour "have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to invite players to compete in Japan", a statement said.

The country has essentially closed its borders to most foreigners in a national drive to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections, but Zozo president Kotaro Sawada remains hopeful of returning to Japan next year.

"During this difficult time, we look forward to dedicating this year's tournament not just to the fans in Japan, but to fans around the world," he added.

With combined purses of US$29.75 million, the Tour's three-stop Asian swing has been the highlight of the Asian golf calendar in recent seasons.

But South Korea's CJ Cup from Oct 15-18 was last week moved from Jeju Island to Las Vegas and the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai from Oct 29-Nov 1 looks certain to be cancelled.

The US$10.25 million tournament has been in doubt since Chinese authorities banned almost all international sports events for the rest of the year to guard against further outbreaks.