Baycurrent Classic 2025 Betting Tips: Homa to Max his chances in Japan

Fresh off Steven Fisk’s life-changing breakthrough victory in last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, the PGA Tour makes its annual trip to Japan for the newly-named Baycurrent Classic, which will be staged at Yokohama Country Club for the first time.

Our resident golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with five more value each-way picks this week, so let's check out his Baycurrent Classic 2025 Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights...

*You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest Baycurrent Classic odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Baycurrent Classic was first held in 2019 and was originally known as the ZOZO Championship.

Tiger Woods won that first edition of this limited-field no-cut event, beating home favourite Hideki Matsuyama by three shots at Narashino Country Club. Patrick Cantlay succeeded him in 2020, in an event that was moved to Sherwood Country Club in California due to COVID.

Following the return to Japan and Narashino in 2021, the local fans were rewarded for their patience as Hideki Matsuyama – who won The Masters earlier that year – gained redemption for his runner-up finish in 2019, claiming an emphatic five-shot victory.

Last five winners:

• 2024

Winner: Nico Echavarria (-20)

Runners-up: Max Greyserman, Justin Thomas (-19)

• 2023

Winner: Collin Morikawa (-14)

Runners-up: Eric Cole, Beau Hossler (-8)

• 2022

Winner: Keegan Bradley (-15)

Runners-up: Rickie Fowler, Andrew Putnam (-14)

• 2021

Winner: Hideki Matsuyama (-15)

Runners-up: Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale (-10)

• 2020

Winner: Patrick Cantlay (-23)

Runners-up: Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas (-22)

Nico Echavarria produced an impressive frontrunning display to win his second PGA Tour title in this event last year, converting his 54-hole lead to beat Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman by one stroke.

The Colombian returns to defend this week, but will have to conquer our new host course, Yokohama Country Club, to become the first two-time winner of the event.

THE COURSE

Yokohama Country Club was founded in 1960, with both the West and East courses created by Takeo Aiyama. However, the Coore & Crenshaw design partnership have since conducted a major renovation at the West Course, which was completed in 2017.

The venue has hosted numerous events on the Japan Golf Tour. This includes two Japan Opens (1978 & 2018) and most recently, it staged the 2024 & 2023 editions of the Yokohama Minato Championship.

As is the case with those previous tournaments, this week’s contest will predominantly be fought on the West Course, with just two holes from the East Course set to be in use. The result of this is a 7315-yard par 71, which possesses 3x par 3s (168-237 yards), 13x par 4s (337-510 yards) and 2x par 5s (529-536 yards).

Rated among the top golf courses in Japan, Yokohama Country Club is a charming parkland layout built on undulating terrain, featuring elevation changes throughout. Although most holes are framed by towering pine trees the course still feels spacious.

Water comes into play on five holes and strikingly rugged, rough-edged bunkers – a characteristic associated with Coore & Crenshaw – offer additional protection, with 80+ positioned around the course.

The sloping fairways are extremely wide, but players still need to navigate them smartly. There are blind tee shots, while trees block out approaches from certain angles, and those aforementioned bunkers litter the landing areas.

The large, elevated bentgrass greens are fast and heavily contoured. Many are at an angle to the fairway, with others multi-tiered and slick run-offs surround the majority – all of which will require the field to display a high level of precision with their approach play.

Yokohama Country Club is a story of two halves. The front nine looks the most scorable, with each of the par 5s, both of which measure under 540 yards, coming over those opening holes, along with the two shorter par 3s and several gettable par 4s. Difficulty then ramps up on the back, where we find eight par 4s, including two at over 500 yards.

Scoring was low here last year, with 22-under-par winning in receptive, benign conditions. However, the venue proved much more difficult in 2023, with -13 enough for victory and with that 2018 Japan Open also won in a higher score of -14, the toughness of this test very much depends on the weather.

THE WEATHER

Japan is right at the end of its typhoon season and with that, it’s no surprise to see plenty of rain and wind in this week’s forecast.

It is predicted to be particularly wet and windy on Thursday and Friday, with up to 30mm of rain scheduled to fall over those first two rounds. This is set to be accompanied by consistent wind speeds of around 20mph, which could gust at up to 35mph.

Barring a little rain on Sunday, the forecast looks kinder over the weekend, allowing players the chance to make a few more birdies at the business end of the tournament.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation/Proximity from 150-200 yards
• SG: Around-the-Greens/Scrambling
• SG: Putting (bentgrass)
• Par 4 Scoring

The greens will be soft and receptive this week due to the rainfall, which should play into the hands of the strongest iron players in the field. Those who excel with the short-to-mid irons will be of special interest, with many approaches appearing to fall within that 150-200 yard range.

I expect plenty of greens to be missed in the challenging conditions of the first two days, which will call upon their ability around the greens. Meanwhile, contenders who excel on bentgrass surfaces should have the advantage on this week’s greens.

Finally, with an unusually high amount of 13 par 4s around the venue, we can also look towards competitors who rank highly in scoring on such holes.

CORRELATING EVENTS

There is nothing in the way of comp form to guide us, but there are several courses that share similar characteristics to Yokohama Country Club which could prove helpful this week.

As a hilly, tree-lined layout with wide fairways, large and speedy bentgrass greens, and striking bunkering, the first course that came to mind was the illustrious Augusta National, home of The Masters.

Although the bentgrass greens are a little smaller at Memorial Tournament host Muirfield Village, it’s another undulating course with wide fairways, smart bunkering, and plenty of subtle elevation changes.

The 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities is a par 71 of a similar length and features wide fairways and large, fast bentgrass greens. Whilst John Deere Classic host TPC Deere Run is also a hilly, tree-lined course with generous fairways and bentgrass greens.

THE FIELD

A strong group of players travels to Japan this week, headed by world No. 4 Xander Schauffele. No. 9 Collin Morikawa is the only other player from inside the top 10, but there are a further 12 from the top 50 in attendance, including home hero Hideki Matsuyama, and recent two-time winner on the DP World Tour Alex Noren.

Nico Echavarria returns to defend, and he is one of three former winners in the field, alongside the aforementioned Collin Morikawa (2023) and Hideki Matsuyama (2021).

Billy Horschel makes just his second start since returning from a hip injury; Michael Kim is in action following his victory in the Open de France three weeks ago; and there are 14 players in the field from the Japan Golf Tour, headed by the current top-ranked player this season, Tatsunori Shogenji.

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Xander Schauffele 10/1, Collin Morikawa 16/1, Hideki Matsuyama 18/1, Si Woo Kim 20/1, Chris Gotterup 20/1, Alex Noren 20/1

SELECTIONS

1.5 pts Max Homa each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 33/1

Max Homa showed a great deal of promise yet again last week, finishing 18^th in the Sanderson Farms Championship. The strength of his approach play was key to that performance and possessing bundles of form on the comp courses mentioned, I’m going to give him another shot in Japan.

Homa’s result in Mississippi was his third top-20 in six starts, finishing 5^th in the John Deere Classic six starts ago, and 19^th in the Procore Championship on his second-last outing.

He began strongly in the Sanderson Farms, opening with a 67 and bettered that with a 64 in round three. A couple of 72s stopped him from being right in the mix, but he doesn’t look far away from putting four rounds together.

Ranking 10^th in this field in approach over the last three months, it was no surprise to see his irons fire last week, ranking 15^th. The short game also looked to be in great shape, ranking 5^th in scrambling and 6^th around-the-greens, and with his two best putting performances of the season coming on bentgrass, he should appreciate these putting surfaces.

Homa played in this event just once previously, finishing 27^th last year. Having finished 3^rd in The Masters, 3^rd in the 3M Open, 5^th in the John Deere Classic and 5^th in the Memorial Tournament, his comp form suggests that Yokohama Country Club will be an ideal fit.

1.5 pts Emiliano Grillo each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 35/1

Emiliano Grillo arrives here after a missed cut at the Country Club of Jackson, but it was only his second in 13 starts. He’s been almost faultless in approach of late and currently enjoying one of his best seasons with the putter, I’m taking him to bounce back.

Following a slow start to the year, Grillo finally got going at the end of March and has remained consistent since. He’s recorded nine top-25 finishes in his last 18 starts – his best effort coming when 2^nd in the John Deere Classic. Meanwhile, he was 4^th in the Procore Championship just two starts ago.

The Argentinian has turned a weakness into a positive in recent years, with this previously unreliable putter ranking 35^th on the greens in 2025. He also possesses quality in approach, ranking 39^th, and as the 30^th-best par 4 scorer this year, his skillset matches the demands of this test.

Grillo has made the trip to Japan for this event on four occasions, finishing 4^th in 2022 and 10^th in 2023. Two runner-up finishes in the John Deere Classic, along with 2^nd and 3^rd-place finishes in the 3M Open, underline his ability to contend at the tournament’s new home.

1.25 pts Austin Eckroat each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 45/1

Austin Eckroat won his latest PGA Tour title at this time of year in 2024, at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico – on a similarly undulating, open and generous driving course where approach play proved vital. He matched his best result of the season on his last start and looks well placed to be in contention at Yokohama Country Club.

After winning twice on the PGA Tour last season, I expected 2025 to be a significant year for Eckroat. That hasn’t quite happened, as he struggled for form in the middle of the season, but he tees it up this week following an 11^th-place finish in the Procore Championship four weeks ago, which equalled his result at the John Deere Classic in July.

He continues to thrive in approach, ranking 12^th in this field during the last three months – his strength with the mid/long irons coming in handy around this layout. The driver has also been dependable throughout the season and while he is somewhat of a streaky putter, he has had several positive performances recently, including ranking 21^st in the Procore.

Eckroat’s only previous appearance in this event came in 2023 when completely out of form, ending the week in 68^th place. Finishing 11^th in this year’s John Deere Classic on debut, combined with his win in Mexico last year, I’m expecting a more accomplished showing this time around.

1 pt Sahith Theegala each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 70/1

I took a huge amount of encouragement from Sahith Theegala’s 38^th-place finish in the Procore Championship, where he ranked among the top 10 players from tee-to-green. It represented a major upgrade on what we’ve seen from him for much of the season and he’s an appealing price to find further improvements this week.

Theegala’s season has been impacted by a neck injury that saw him miss almost two months of action and resulted in him recording just the one top-20 finish – in the Genesis Invitational in February.

He’d failed to make the cut in each of his four previous starts prior to the Procore Championship but left that form behind there. He began the event with rounds of 68 and 70 to sit 14^th at the halfway point, and after a disappointing third-round 75 caused him to slip down the leaderboard, it was pleasing to see him bounce back with a three-under 69 in Sunday’s final round to finish 38^th.

Although ranking 70^th with the putter, he was 7^th from tee-to-green – his best performance of the season in this area. His iron play looked particularly tidy, ranking 8^th in approach and 11^th in greens-in-regulation – something I’m counting on him replicating in Japan.

Sahith was 5^th on his debut in this event in 2022 and with finishes of 5^th in the Memorial Tournament, 6^th in the 3M Open, and 9^th in The Masters to his name, this appears to be a perfect course for him to continue his resurgence.

1 pt David Lipsky each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 125/1

David Lipsky has twice finished 3^rd over the last three months, each time at one of the potential comp courses. He’s currently thriving in approach, and also producing consistently solid displays on the greens, he can contend at a tempting price.

Lipsky had failed to record a single solo top-20 finish until the end of June but turned his fortunes around with an excellent 3^rd-place finish in the John Deere Classic. He’s only missed one cut in six starts since then, including again finishing 3^rd, this time in the 3M Open, and he was a solid 48^th in Jackson.

He’s gaining strokes through the bag at present, ranking 21^st among these players from tee-to-green over the last three months. His approach play has been particularly strong, ranking 18^th and he’s been typically sound with the short game, ranking 39^th in scrambling. In addition, he’s also gained strokes in four of his last six starts with the putter.

Having started his career on the Asian Tour, Lipsky is more than familiar with playing golf in this part of the world. Those 3^rd-place finishes in this year’s John Deere Classic and 3M Open offer plenty of promise, and with a likeable profile relating to this challenge, he can go well at Yokohama Country Club.

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