Yusaku Maezawa, pictured with PGA Tour exec Ty Votaw, hopes to incorporate fashion into the event.PGA TOUR
Japan will "host its first-ever PGA Tour event starting next year," with Zozo, one of the "fastest growing online business companies" in the country, as the tournament’s title sponsor, according to Kaz Nagatsuka of the JAPAN TIMES. The six-year deal begins next season. The Zozo Championship will have a "field of 78 players" and "make its debut" from Oct. 24-27. Zozo Founder & President Yusaku Maezawa said that he and his company "have not come up with any concrete ideas yet, but that they hope to make the Japanese PGA Tour event a unique one by taking advantage of its expertise." Maezawa: “We are a company that deals with fashion and IT. We would like to abundantly use those for the tournament, making it a fashionable and technological (event), something the world has not seen before” (JAPAN TIMES, 11/20). The AP's Stephen Wade reported the event will be part of the PGA Tour's "swing through Asia along with stops in South Korea and China," as it replaces the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. The Tour said that the deal was "driven partly" by the Tokyo 2020 Games and golf’s "high profile there" (AP, 11/20).
