The TOUR kicked off the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP on Wednesday night in the states from Japan as seven of the top 20 players in the world teed off in the short field, no cut event. Brendan Steele would, wait for it, as he birdied his final four holes to get in at six-under and take the first round lead by one shot over Adam Schenk.
Steele birdied six of his nine holes coming in as his putter got hot on the greens. He got through the day with just one bogey as his data shows that the leader was solid in all aspects of his game. There are three players at four-under, two shots back of his lead, and Xander Schauffele is the elite name lingering at three-under.
We don’t have strokes gained data to help guide us this week, so we will lean on the more traditional stats, but with everyone guaranteed to play all 72-holes, it’s a great spot to chase some value. Let’s see who stands out.