PGA TOUR, WITH TIGER WOODS IN TOW, TRIES TO WIN OVER JAPAN
The Zozo Championship is Tiger Woods’ first tournament in Japan in more than a decade, since he played a Japanese tour event in Miyazaki, on the southern island of Kyushu, in 2006.
Yasuo Shiina left his home in Tokyo at dawn Thursday to get a spot at the 10th tee of the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, about 90 minutes away. Shiina plays a round or so a month and watches lots of golf on television. But he has never seen the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory Mcilroy and Jason Day up close.
“It’s hard to see players like these in Japan,” said Shiina, 51, who works at a home construction company. “I’ll be really impressed to see Tiger.”
Shiina wasn’t disappointed, or alone. By the time Woods emerged to tee off at 8:40 a.m., the crowds were 10 people deep, including some fans wearing orange and black tiger-themed onesies. The cheers for Woods were as loud as they were for the favorite sons Satoshi Kodaira (who was paired with Woods) and Hideki Matsuyama. After Woods hit his opening drive, the crowds jostled like commuters on a rush hour train to follow him down the fairway.
“It was loud, it was very loud,” Woods said after his first round. “The people here in Japan have come out and supported this event, and it’s been a lot of fun to play in front of them again.”
The enthusiastic crowds were an auspicious start to the Zozo Championship, the first Japanese event to be added to the PGA Tour schedule. All 80,000 or so tickets were sold for the tournament, whose title sponsor, the fashion retailer Zozo, made a six-year commitment to host the event. The $9.75 million purse and the 500 Fedex Cup points at stake attracted 14 players who have won major tournament titles. One of those players was Woods, who overcame a shaky start to shoot a 6-under-par 64 and share the lead with Gary Woodland after the first day. Matsuyama finished the day one shot behind.
But the tournament hit an unexpected roadblock: the weather. Play was called off Friday, when more than 6 inches of rain drenched the course, and spectators will not be allowed on the course Saturday because of safety concerns. The final round has been pushed back Monday.
The Zozo Championship is Woods’ first tournament in Japan in more than a decade, since he played a Japanese tour event in Miyazaki, on the southern island of Kyushu, in 2006.
Whether Woods appeared or not, the PGA Tour hoped for a successful Zozo Championship to bolster the tour’s presence in
Asia. The tour, which has offices in Beijing and Tokyo, already held tournaments in China and South Korea. Japan was added this year — replacing Malaysia — on the tour’s three-country swing through the region. There are also developmental tours in Canada, China and Latin America to attract young golfers.
In some ways, an event in Japan was a natural addition. The country has more than 2,000 courses, the third-most in the world, and is home to big corporate sponsors and golf industry giants like Bridgestone. Japan has plenty of well-heeled golf fans willing to pay 12,000 yen ($111) or more for a day pass. Sales of golf gear — from clothing to clubs — are sizable. Golf in Japan will get another boost next year during the Tokyo Olympics.
But the success of a PGA Tour event in Japan is no sure shot. Last year, about 6.7 million people played the game in Japan, down by more than half since 1992, when the country was amid the collapse of its bubble economy. While young people are picking up the sport by playing screen golf, visiting golf ranges and other alternatives to a five-hour round, the sport remains the preserve of older men who began playing in the 1970s and ’80s, when golf was a popular form of corporate entertainment.
“Golf is a symbol of the bubble economy, when everyone felt they had to play golf and go skiing,” said Munehiko Harada, a professor of sports business at Waseda University in Tokyo. “That generation is getting older, and there is no supply of new, younger golfers.”
As the size of the golf-playing public has declined, companies like Accordia Golf, which operates more than 170 courses across Japan, have tried to adapt. They have reduced greens fees, added flexible start times and let golfers find tee times online. Yuko Tashiro, chief executive of Accordia, which owns the Narashino Country Club, said she hoped the Zozo Championship would motivate more young players to pick up the sport.
“We need this event to help people who haven’t played golf to come out to the course,” she said.
Other sports organizations have tried to promote participation by visiting Japan. The NBA has scheduled games in the country over the past three decades — including this month, when the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors played near Tokyo. Major League Baseball has long sent teams and all-star squads to Japan, where MLB games are often broadcast live.
American football and hockey have failed to gain a foothold despite numerous visits by NFL and NHL teams.
Sports like golf and tennis, though, are driven more by individual stars, and Japanese fans love seeing the best at their craft, which is one reason that Harada, the sports business professor, believes PGA Tour events in Japan may have staying power.
“Normal people don’t care about the PGA, they care about Tiger Woods,” he said. “If a guy like Tiger keeps coming to Japan, the tournament will attract a lot of people.”
Though Japan has its own professional men’s and women’s tours, putting on a PGA Tour event posed challenges. To start, the organizers had to find a date that was acceptable to the local men’s tour and its media partner.
“We didn’t want to come in and do something that would have hurt golf in this country,” said Ty Votaw, executive vice president of international affairs for the PGA Tour. “It’s the second largest golf economy in the world, and we wanted to be welcomed with enthusiasm.”
Megumi Hatakeyama, vice president of the golf department at Zozo, said the location of the course, between Tokyo and the international airport in Narita, was crucial. The site also has 36 holes, so there was enough space for hospitality tents and other features common at events in the United States. Other adjustments were made, including to the security policy, so fans could bring backpacks to the course. Hatakeyama also tweaked the menu to include more comfort food, such as Tater Tots, that U.S. golfers would like.
“I wanted to give them the same as they would have on the PGA Tour,” she said.
Another hiccup: Zozo was acquired by Yahoo Japan last month, and the driver of the event, Yusaku Maezawa, is no longer chief executive.
Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said that Zozo had agreed to sponsor the event for six years, and that he expected Maezawa to continue to play a central role. The tour, he added, has no intention of moving the tournament.
“When we make a commitment to bring a new event to a market, that’s a commitment that is permanent,” Monahan said, “and our intention is to never leave Japan, to always have a PGA Tour event in Japan from this day forward.” © 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES