The PGA TOUR travels to Japan this week for the Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club (par 71, 7,322 yards, bentgrass greens). Last year’s Baycurrent Classic was also played at Yokohama, marking the course’s PGA TOUR debut, and Xander Schauffele (-19) won by one shot. Before last season, this event was known as the ZOZO Championship. There will be 72 golfers this week and no cut.
Below, I have featured my two favorite bets for the Baycurrent Classic on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Bets for the 2026 Baycurrent Classic
Rickie Fowler for a top-20 finish including ties (+108)
Fowler has quietly had an excellent season. The six-time PGA TOUR winner has made 16-of-21 cuts and he has recorded 10 top-20 finishes. Fowler finished runner-up at the Truist Championship in May and he has finished T18th or better in three of his last five starts entering this week.
Fowler has gained strokes on approach in five consecutive starts and he ranks 37th in SGP this season, which bodes well for an easy course like Yokohama – Schauffele finished sixth in SGP when he won at this venue a year ago.
Fowler has never competed at Yokohama before, but he has fared well at this event in the past, finishing fourth at the 2024 ZOZO Championship and runner-up at the 2022 ZOZO Championship. He ranks eighth in this field in strokes gained per round at tracks in Asia and he ranks ninth in this field in strokes gained per round at fall events.
Ben Kohles over Ryo Hisatsune (-122)
Kohles has never teed it up at Yokohama before and he finished just T56th at the 2024 ZOZO Championship, which is his lone start in Japan. Meanwhile, Hisatsune has finished inside the top-12 in 2-of-5 starts at this event, but once the Baycurrent Classic moved to Yokohama last season, the Japan native struggled mightily. Hisatsune shot even par or worse in 3-of-4 rounds at the par 71 and he finished 72nd of the 78-player field.
So, while Hisatsune has more experience competing in Japan than Kohles, it should be taken lightly, given how poorly Hisatsune played at Yokohama a year ago. More importantly, Kohles is in far better form than Hisatsune.
Kohles has made 16 straight cuts between the Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR with nine top-25 finishes during this run. Kohles began this stretch with a win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour in June. He has looked strong this fall, finishing T15th at the Biltmore Championship in Asheville and T13th at the Bank of Utah Championship.
Hisatsune, on the other hand, just went 1-2-0 in his matches at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago, which comes after he missed the cut at the Biltmore Championship in Asheville. Hisatsune did finish T12th at the BMW Championship in August, but this is the only time in his last six starts that he has cracked the top-50.
When we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, Kohles ranks second in total strokes gained, whereas Hisatsune ranks just 47th. Kohles has a legitimate chance to contend this week while Hiasatsune looks bound for another poor showing at Yokohama, and backing Kohles to win this matchup is a no-brainer.
