Baycurrent Classic Betting Preview
The PGA Tour heads overseas for the third event of the fall series for this week's Baycurrent Classic in Yokohama, Japan. Roughly an hour south of Tokyo, Yokohama Country Club will host the no-cut tournament for the first time for the previously named Zozo Championship. The 78-player field includes 14 golfers from the Japan Tour and is headlined by tournament favorite Xander Schauffele at 10-1 odds. Last year, longshot Nico Echavarria (350-1 !!) picked up his second Tour victory by one stroke over Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman.
We don't have any data to draw from being a new venue, so we'll first look at the scorecard and see that Yokohama CC plays as a par 71 at 7,315 yards. Interestingly, there are only three par-3s and two par-5s with 13 par-4s, eight of which come on the back-nine. The par-5s should be reachable in two for the entire field and eight of the par-4s play under 440 yards so I don't think this is going to play long. There's a mixture of holes with wide landing zones that are going to favor the bombers, but also plenty of dogleg holes with tree-lined fairways that will put a premium on accuracy. Ideally, we're looking for players with a combination of length and accuracy off the tee as well as those that approach it well from 125-175 yards. The over/under on winning score currently sits at 18.5-under, so we should see plenty of birdies this week.
Make sure to get your bets in on time! The tournament is set to begin Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. EST.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 6:00 PM ET Tuesday.
Best Ball Strikers
These five golfers, on a per-round basis, have gained the most strokes off the tee and on approach combined across their last 20 rounds:
- Kurt Kitayama: 1.73
- Rico Hoey: 1.67
- Si Woo Kim: 1.52
- Austin Eckroat: 1.15
- Xander Schauffele: 1.13
Anytime there's a first-time venue, it never hurts to lean towards the top ball strikers, which Kitayama has been for most of the year. That helped lead to his second career Tour win this summer, and he posted top-20s in both playoff events. Of course, you never know if that will continue after a nearly two month layoff, but he's in a similar position to many players in this field in that regard. Kitayama is getting respect from the oddsmakers as the fifth choice at 22-1 odds. Quite a bit farther down the betting board we find Eckroat at 60-1, who despite a disappointing campaign has been in good form with his long game while his around the green play continues to be the downfall. Nevertheless, his combination of length and accuracy off the tee should suit him well around Yokohama and makes him a darkhorse to consider.
Baycurrent Classic Bets: Outright Picks
Chris Gotterup (20-1)
Gotterup had an excellent summer, becoming a PGA Tour winner and then had three top-10s in three of his next five starts. He'll look to overpower Yokohama with his length, which has him seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee this season.
Min Woo Lee (30-1)
Speaking of long hitters, I'll continue the theme with Lee, who is 15th in driving distance this year. He has experience playing this event as well, finishing T6 in 2023. Lee played well in France a few weeks ago, finishing T5 on the DP World Tour.
William Mouw (70-1)
We know that Mouw can win at this level as the rookie captured his first PGA Tour victory at the ISCO Championship in July. He then followed it up with a top-10 at the 3M Open. He hasn't played since the end of the regular season but was playing some of his best golf at the time.
Baycurrent Classic Bets: Placement Wagers
Andrew Putnam (Top-10 at 9-2)
Putnam ranks sixth in driving accuracy this season and shared runner-up honors at the event three years ago. Two of Putnam's three best putting weeks this year have led to top-10s, so I'm banking on him hitting fairways and making putts.
Emiliano Grillo (Top-5 at 7-1)
Grillo was in contention to win at the John Deere in July and in Napa last month, so the ceiling has been there recently. He also seems to like playing in Japan, posting a solo fourth and a T10 in his last two trips to the event.
Takumi Kanaya (Top-5 at 10-1)
Kanaya will look to represent his home country well, which he most notably did in 2021 with a T7 finish at the event. He won on the Japan Tour last month and is coming off a T21 in Jackson last week.
Baycurrent Classic Bets: Head-to-Head Matchups
Max Greyserman (-105) over Sam Stevens
I know it's a different venue, but it doesn't hurt that Greyserman finished one back at the event a year ago. He's not my ideal target in matchups, but Stevens has been even more inconsistent. Over his last four events, Stevens has missed the cut twice and finished in the bottom half of the other two which were no cut events. Greyserman has the length advantage, better iron play and superior short game. I'm surprised he's the slight underdog.
Rico Hoey (-120) over Sungjae Im
Im continues to trend in a negative direction with his only top-25 across his last 10 events being a T17 out of 70 golfers in the first playoff event. His iron play has fallen off the charts, as he ranks dead last in SG: Approach this year. I'll lay a little juice with Hoey as the favorite, who made the trip to Japan last year (finish T22) and has a pair of top-10s across his last five starts.
New to golf betting? Check out the best golf betting promos to find the sportsbook that's right for you, featuring the top sign-up bonuses.
