Baycurrent Classic Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Austin Smotherman earned his first PGA Tour victory in his 100th start at the Bank of Utah Championship with a two-shot victory at 26 under par over Doug Ghim. Smotherman, a 100-1 shot pre-event, came into the week at No. 79 in the FedExCup — the top 100 keep full PGA Tour cards for 2027 — and picked up some immediate rewards. He now has a two-year exemption, which includes the lucrative “Championship Series” when the new model starts in 2028.
This week, the PGA Tour returns to Japan for the Baycurrent Classic, where last year’s winner Xander Schauffele (9-1) returns as the tournament favorite.
Collin Morikawa (16-1) won this event in 2023 at Narashino before the move to Yokohama last year.
At 18-1 are Wyndham Clark and Hideki Matsuyama, the face of Japanese golf, who won this event as the ZOZO Championship in 2021.
Justin Thomas, Ryan Gerard and Jacob Bridgeman, a winner three weeks ago in Asheville, are all priced at 22-1, while the trio at 25-1 includes Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott and last week’s runner-up, Ghim.
Other former event champions in this field include Keegan Bradley (40-1) and Nico Echavarria (100-1).
The Event
The Baycurrent Classic began as the ZOZO Championship in 2019 as the first PGA Tour event ever sanctioned in Japan (co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour). Baycurrent, a Japanese consulting firm, took over as the event sponsor last year.
The tournament also moved last year from the Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba, Japan, which is about 90 minutes outside of Tokyo, to the Yokohama Country Club in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
The inaugural ZOZO Championship in 2019 was won by Tiger Woods. That win gave Woods his 82nd PGA Tour victory, which still has him tied with Sam Snead for the most career PGA Tour wins. The 2020 ZOZO was held at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns in Japan and was won by Patrick Cantlay but returned to Japan in 2021 and was won by Hideki Matsuyama.
The Field
The Baycurrent Classic is a no-cut event that features a strong 72-player field that includes 16 players ranked inside the OWGR top 50.
The Course
Yokohama Country Club, about 20 miles south of Tokyo, was established in 1960 and is a 36-hole facility designed by the late Takeo Aiyama and Hideo Takemura. The West Course was remodeled by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2016.
This week’s course will be a composite of 16 holes from the West Course and two from the East.
The layout will play as a par-71 of 7,322 yards. It is unique in that it features only two par-5s, three par-3s, and 13 par-4s.
Yokohama has wide Zoysiagrass (bouncy) fairways on this tree-lined parklands. It is heavily bunkered with 86 on the course and many in key landing areas.
The Bentgrass greens are 6,500 square feet on average and will roll a slower 11.5 on the stimpmeter. Nevertheless, they will be challenging with false fronts and plenty of undulations.
Aside from the recent courses in Japan — Narashino and Kasumigaseki — in which many of these players have played, other potential course correlations include TPC Toronto, TPC River Highlands, TPC San Antonio, Innisbrook, Colonial, Pinehurst No. 2 (another Coore/Crenshaw renovation) and Augusta National.
London-based Heinrich Aerial Solutions is a global leader in mapping, data modelling, videography and visualization technology, and they provide a hole-by-hole flyover.
Weather
Last year in its inaugural PGA tournament, Yokohama played at an average of -0.96 per round but was essentially two different courses because of the weather. The first and third rounds played at +0.74 due to a typhoon that affected the area with heavy wind and rain. Friday and Sunday were both calmer with soft, wet conditions, and the course played -2.64 for those rounds.
Scoring should be lower this year at Yokohama with no rain in the forecast and little wind.
ZOZO Championship Tournament History
2025: Xander Schauffele (-19/265); 10-1; Yokohama GC
2024: Nico Echavarria (-20/260); 250-1; Narashino CC
2023: Collin Morikawa (-14/266); 11-1; Narashino CC
2022: Keegan Bradley (-15/265); 40-1; Narashino CC
2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-15/265); 16-1; Narashino CC
2020: Patrick Cantlay (-23/265); 28-1; Sherwood CC
2019: Tiger Woods (-19/261); 33-1; Narashino CC
Statistical Analysis
Unfortunately, no ShotLink data is available from last year. However, we can still somewhat determine what stats should be important for success here.
The Zoysia rough is only about three inches, so players can still gain with the irons even when missing fairways.
Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (Last 50 rounds)
- Ben Kohles 0.77
- Jackson Suber 0.68
- Davis Thompson 0.68
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.61
- Collin Morikawa 0.58
- Matt Wallace 0.52
- Kurt Kitayama 0.50
- Alex Smalley 0.44
- Keegan Bradley 0.43
- Zach Bauchou 0.42
- Brian Harman 0.42
- Billy Horschel 0.42
- John Parry 0.40
- Tom Hoge 0.40
- Doug Ghim 0.39
- Hideki Matsuyama 0.38
Good Drives are drives where the player either hits the fairway off the tee OR the player misses the fairway but still hits the green or fringe in regulation.
Good Drives Percentage (Last 50 rounds)
- Ben Kohles 90.5%
- Doug Ghim 88.8
- Jackson Suber 87.7
- Lee Hodges 87.5
- Kris Ventura 87.3
- Jordan Smith 86.3
- Beau Hossler 86.3
- Kevin Yu 86.1
- Takumi Kanaya 86.0
- Johnny Keefer 85.4
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 85.2
- John Parry 85.0
- Zach Bauchou 84.9
- Kevin Roy 84.4
- Keita Nakajima 84.1
- Chandler Phillips 84.0
The fairways are wide at Yokohama, so players can attempt to bomb away off the tee.
Average Driving Distance (Last 50 rounds)
- Aldrich Potgieter 312.6
- Michael Brennan 309.5
- Keith Mitchell 309.3
- Johnny Keefer 308.0
- Max Greyserman 305.9
- Min Woo Lee 305.9
- Pierceson Coody 304.5
- Taylor Pendrith 304.4
- Jordan Spieth 303.8
- Xander Schauffele 303.5
- Taylor Moore 302.5
- Maverick McNealy 301.9
- Michael Thorbjornsen 301.5
- Wyndham Clark 301.4
- Kris Ventura 301.2
- Kurt Kitayama 301.2
- Tony Finau 301.2
- Max Homa 301.1
13 of the 18 holes on this layout are par-4s.
Par-4 Birdie Or Better Percentage (Last 50 rounds)
- Kevin Yu 22.8%
- Doug Ghim 21.7
- Zach Bauchou 21.5
- Beau Hossler 21.4
- Davis Thompson 21.3
- Jacob Bridgeman 21.2
- Collin Morikawa 21.1
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 21.0
- Wyndham Clark 20.8
- Matt McCarty 20.8
- Matt Wallace 20.7
- Michael Brennan 20.6
- Ben Kohles 20.5
- Hideki Matsuyama 20.5
- Kris Ventura 20.5
- Keith Mitchell 20.5
- Billy Horschel 20.4
- Ryan Gerard 20.1
- Johnny Keefer 20.0
Besides the extensive bunkering, the areas around most greens are mainly composed of short grass, which means chipping from those areas will have added importance this week.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (Last 50 rounds)
- Justin Thomas 0.66
- Chandler Phillips 0.58
- Hideki Matsuyama 0.45
- Takumi Kanaya 0.41
- Wyndham Clark 0.41
- Maverick McNealy 0.35
- Stephan Jaeger 0.34
- Tony Finau 0.31
- Mac Meissner 0.28
- Matt Wallace 0.28
- Doug Ghim 0.27
- Sungjae Im 0.26
- Andrew Putnam 0.25
- Michael Thorbjornsen 0.25
- John Parry 0.24
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.20
The greens at Yokohama are Bentgrass.
Strokes Gained: Putting — Average Per Round — Bentgrass Greens (Last 50 rounds)
- Ryan Gerard 1.17
- Collin Morikawa 1.16
- Denny McCarthy 1.08
- Wyndham Clark 0.88
- Lee Hodges 0.78
- Maverick McNealy 0.70
- Max Homa 0.66
- Andrew Putnam 0.58
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.56
- Michael Kim 0.56
- Brian Harman 0.56
- Alex Smalley 0.52
- Pierceson Coody 0.51
- Nick Taylor 0.48
- Matt Wallace 0.45
- Kurt Kitayama 0.42
Selections
Collin Morikawa (16-1, DraftKings)
After a few weeks off from the FedExCup Playoffs, Morikawa went just 2-2 in the Presidents Cup matches but did defeat Hideki Matsuyama in singles.
Morikawa has been dialed in with his irons all season. While his putter can be erratic, he has been at his best with the flat stick on Bentgrass greens.
Xander Schauffele was able to honor his Japanese heritage by getting a victory here last year, and perhaps it is Morikawa’s turn to do the same this year.
Sungjae Im (33-1, BetRivers)
It has been close to two and a half years since Im has won anywhere, but he appears to be getting closer to getting back into the winner’s circle.
He has 15-14-5-10 in his last four starts and contributed 2.5 points to the International team in the Presidents Cup, which was capped by a singles victory over Sam Burns, who has played like a top-10 golfer over the last few months. Im actually had the best approach numbers of all the 24 players at the Presidents Cup.
Perhaps Im will take some extra motivation from South Korean countryman Tom Kim (who W/D from this event) after seeing him win a gold medal at the Asian Games, like Im did four years ago, and earn exemption from his country’s military service requirement.
Matt Wallace (38-1, Circa Sports)
While Wallace missed the cut last week in Utah, his form line before that reads 10-14-9-15-7-5 dating all the way to late July.
He posted a top-10 here last year despite shooting a 3-over 74 in the first round.
The Englishman also has all the incentives to play well here. For one, he is No. 54 in the OWGR. Getting into the top 50 by the end of the year would essentially lock in his status for the majors in 2027. Next, he is No. 78 in the FedExCup Fall and could rise into the 51-60 and get into the first two “Signature Events” next year. Finally, Wallace has always fallen just short of making the European Ryder Cup team. A victory here would certainly open some eyes and give him a leg up in the point standings.
Jackson Suber (58-1, Circa Sports)
Suber is No. 76 in the FedExCup Fall, so his tour card is locked up for next season, but he now chases the elusive win.
He has three top-6 finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
In addition, he is second in this field for Approach and third for Good Drives Gained over the last 50 rounds.
Takumi Kanaya (100-1, DraftKings)
Kanaya finished fourth here last year and was seventh the year before at Narashino.
He is No. 142 in the FedExCup Fall, and this is likely his best opportunity to get into the top 100 and lock in his full-time PGA Tour card for next season.
Matt McCarty (130-1, Fanatics)
McCarty finished 14th here last year but did shoot the course record of 60 in his final round of the event.
He has eight top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour and the form has cooled a bit, but McCarty was the last man inside the FedExCup top 50, so he is in all the big events next year
His short game struggled a bit last week in Utah (T-53), but he has been one of the best putters in the field over the last three months.
Other bets, including for the DP World Tour’s Open De Espana, will be available on Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
Placement markets, props, matchups and/or other bets will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks.
SPONSORED
AUGUST YOUNG is now 21-3 (88%) this WNBA season for almost +7K, which includes an absurd 16-1 (94%) winning run for +5,760!
FULLY DOCUMENTED HERE
Young is coming off another easy winner last night as he continues to dominate the women’s pro league. Access his premium WNBA picks at Doc’s Sports with a free $60 new member account. Get your free trial here!
