Plenty of folks in Japan will be fixated to a television screen or their phone Saturday morning. Including Max Homa and Collin Morikawa.
The duo is teeing it up this week in the 2024 Zozo Championship, but they’re far from the only Los Angeles Dodgers fans in Japan. That’s thanks to Shohei Ohtani, the best player in baseball, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a standout pitcher.
With Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees beginning in California around the same time as the third round of the 2024 Zozo Championship will begin across the Pacific Ocean, fans in Japan will also have their eyes fixated on Dodger Stadium.
“Obviously we have two Japanese players on the Dodgers that are
tremendous, one of which is Ohtani, who is the best baseball player I’ve ever seen,” Homa said. “So it’s quite cool to come here. I’ve actually seen quite a few L.A. hats. It’s quite neat to be in Japan when the best baseball player in the world is Japanese and he’s on the team I root for. It’s kind of a dream scenario.”
The time difference makes for coffee baseball in Japan, which gives fans plenty of time to cheer for the Dodgers (or Yankees) before spending the afternoon on the golf course cheering on some of the best players from the PGA Tour.
“It’s been great watching the Dodgers play in Japan, in Tokyo. It was nice because they had it on TV. You wake up in the morning and it’s on,” Morikawa said. “They’ll probably be playing I’m guessing when we’re out on the golf course, but we’ll be taking a peek here and there for sure.”
It won’t be a shock to see fans keeping the players informed while waiting on tee boxes or walking down fairways. And even with a seven-figure payday on the line, Homa isn’t afraid to show his Dodgers’ fandom.
“I would be lying if I said I wish I wasn’t home a little bit so I could go to the game, or a game, but yeah, it’s neat to be here,” Homa said. “I’m hopeful to see some more L.A. hats. And yeah, it’s been great, the run they’ve been on, it’s been very fun to watch.”