YOKOHAMA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 09: Eric Cole of the United States hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the Baycurrent Classic Presented by LEXUS at Yokohama Country Club on October 9, 2025 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
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The Baycurrent Classic, formerly the ZoZo Championship, tees off today at a new venue, Yokohama Country Club, and marks the return of Billy Horschel.
Horschel will join a strong field of PGA Tour and Japan Tour players in Baycurrent’s inaugural event. The mixed-tour field is the deepest of the fall schedule and features Ryder Cup players Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, and Nicolai Højgaard. Hideki Matsuyama, a past champion, returns as the Japanese fan favorite.
The Japan/PGA Tour mixed event was established in 2019 to bring a global showcase to golf-crazed Japan, with Tiger Woods winning the inaugural edition.
Along with the sponsor change, the event has also rotated courses: originally held at Narashino Country Club in 2019, moved to Sherwood Country Club in California in 2020 (due to COVID), back to Narashino from 2021–2023, and now to Yokohama Country Club. This year, the West Course will serve as the primary layout, with two holes from the East Course incorporated to create a composite track.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 08: Nico Echavarria of Colombia hits his tee shot on the 17th hole prior to the Baycurrent Classic Presented by LEXUS at Yokohama Country Club on October 08, 2025 in Yokohama, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)
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Remodeled by Coore and Crenshaw in 2015, Yokohama will play as a par-71, stretching to a maximum of 7,315 yards. While shorter than some PGA Tour venues, it is expected to yield plenty of wedge approaches.
“The 2015 remodel focused on adding elevation to tees and fairways, as well as reworking bunkers to highlight the course’s natural undulations. It is known for its wide fairways framed by dense pine clusters, dramatic slopes, and classic Coore & Crenshaw bunkering,” according to Golf Digest.
Nico Echavarria provided fireworks on the final three holes last year to secure his second career win. He returns after a break, having missed the cut at the Procore Championship and skipping the Sanderson Farms.
“It was very close all day, very fun. (Thomas and Greyserman) got off to a hot start, and it stayed level for most of the last 10 or 13 holes,” Echavarria said. “Max played great. Justin has been playing incredible—he hit a lot of good putts that just didn’t fall. But overall, it was special to finish birdie-par-birdie and take this home.”
With a thirteen-hour time difference between Japan and the U.S. East Coast, fans will need late nights to watch live coverage:
- Wednesday: 9 p.m.–1 a.m., GOLF Channel
- Thursday–Saturday: 11 p.m.–3 a.m., GOLF Channel
The winner will walk away with $1.44 million—the richest purse of the fall schedule.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/break80/2025/10/08/baycurrent-classic-tees-off-in-japan-matsuyama-horschel-ryder-cup-stars-headline/
