Zozo Championship moves to Sherwood, hopes to return to Japan in 2021

Tiger Woods won’t defend his Zozo Championship title in Japan. But he might well do it at an old haunt.

The PGA Tour officially announced Monday night that this fall’s event will move to Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, and be temporarily rechristened the Zozo Championship @ Sherwood.

Per the Tour’s release, the move is the result of “unprecedented challenges” and “unique circumstances” — namely, the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic.

The Zozo, scheduled for Oct. 22-25, made its Tour debut last year, with Woods winning his 82nd Tour title, tying Sam Snead for the all-time record.

“Following last year’s successful launch, our players will no doubt be disappointed to miss traveling to Japan to play in the Zozo. Championship this year, but we look forward to returning in 2021,” PGA Tour executive vice president Ty Votaw said.

With the Asian Swing on hiatus, the Zozo is now part of a makeshift West Coast Swing comprising of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (Oct. 8-11) at TPC Summerlin and the CJ Cup (Oct. 15-18), which was moved to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

As for Woods, he hosted his World Challenge event at Sherwood from 2000-2013, winning five times.