Baycurrent Classic 2025: Dave Tindall's each-way picks from 25/1 to 66/1

• Dave Tindall takes a close look at the Baycurrent Classic, previously known as the Zozo Championship

• 25/126.00 Si Woo Kim's tee-to-green game is one of the best

• 66/167.00 Sahith Theegala is showing signs of a return to form 

• 40/141.00 Gary Woodland has a strong record in the Far East

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Introduction to the Baycurrent Classic

When first noting the name of this week's PGA Tour tournament a few months ago during a 'schedule' scroll, I presumed it was a new event perhaps held in California or somewhere else out west.

But, no, the Baycurrent Classic is the annual co-sanctioned shindig between the PGA Tour and Japan Golf Tour. The ping of recognition comes when noting it was formerly the ZOZO Championship.

For the record, Baycurrent = Japanese consulting firm, ZOZO = Japanese clothing brand. I preferred the latter name but that's not important.

However, unless you follow the Japan Tour, this week's course won't be familiar.

After five editions at Narashino, the tournament heads to Yokohama Country Club.

Opened in 1960, it has two courses and both layouts come into play this week although the West Course dominates as 16 of its holes are used.

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw revamped the property in 2016 and it has generous tree-lined fairways with rough around three inches and bentgrass greens.

Par is 71 for the course which measures 7,315 yards although it gets there via just two par 5s and three par 3s. Fun fact: 10 of the last 11 holes are all par 4s.

Just 78 players take part and they'll face windy conditions in round one and perhaps some rain throughout the week although nothing too heavy.

Also note there is no cut.

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Bet 1: Si Woo Kim @ 25/126.00

With greens set to play on the slower side compared to your standard PGA Tour event and thus likely to cause a few head scratches, I'd rather lean on solid ball-strikers on a course that will be unfamiliar to most.

So that immediately throws Si Woo Kim into the mix.

The Korean has enjoyed his trips to Japan and closed with a pair of 64s to finish sixth in this event at Narashino last year.

That was his first start in the country since 2022 when he made the top five in the Japan Tour's Shinhan Donghae Open, played that year at Koma Country Club (another tree-lined course in Japan).

The last time we saw Kim, the four-time PGA Tour winner was again thriving in woodland territory as he finished fifth in a strong field in last month's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

That followed 19th at the BMW Championship and 14th in the St. Jude Championship so he's in nice form.

In those three events he ranked 4th, 7th and 2nd respectively for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and he's 6th overall in that category on the PGA Tour this year.

Yes, the putter remains a weakness but Steven Fisk (ranked 160th for SG: Putting this season) won last week's event with 24-under so it's an obstacle that can be overcome.

Kim, who has just turned 30, knows how to get it done and, with soft conditions expected, his ability to throw darts with his irons at the receptive greens looks a strong asset. 

The last tournament to be played at Yokohoma was won with 22-under and Kim has captured two of his four PGA titles with tallies of 21-under and 23-under.

He won't fear a birdie-fest.

Back him each-way at 25s (6 Places).

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Bet 2: Sahith Theegala @ 66/167.00

If you'd not followed results too closely this season having been fully committed in the past, the one price that would shock is the 80/181.00 (6 Places) about Sahith Theegala.

Theegala was going off at prices such as 16/117.00 in Fall Series events a couple of seasons ago and he justied those odds when landing the 2023 Fortinet Championship.

But 2025 - so far - has been a bit of a disaster with an injury and subsequent swing quirks leading to series of missed cuts.

However, it's surely a matter of time before we see him pop up again and three good rounds and 38th place at the Procure last month was a definite uptick.

His quotes during that event are certainly worth reading too.

"This feels like a mental and physical reset," he said after an opening 68.

"The goal is to get back into golf mode. I'm not putting a bunch of reps in, I'm not hitting a bunch of golf balls in full grind mode, I'm just playing and getting back into it and getting my body a little bit more attuned to playing golf again. Just felt really good to hit shots today with no lingering issues or tightness.

"I'm just excited and want to make the weekend, then go from there."

He did, and I like the idea of him not killing himself on the range given that he sees the game more as art than science.

Stats-wise, he ranked an impressive 8th for SG: Tee To Green and 8th for Approach at the Procure so the underlying numbers look good.

In previous visits to Japan, Theegala was fifth in the 2022 ZOZO and top 20 the year after so he's played well there before.

Winning may be a bit of an ask but he's capable of getting in the mix at a big price.

The 80s for 6 Places is an option but let's give ourselves more wriggle room by playing the 10 Places market at 66/167.00.

Remember, it's just a 78-man field.

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Bet 3: Gary Woodland @ 40/141.00

It didn't go the way he wanted it to but being one of the USA's five Ryder Cup vice-captains still meant a lot to Gary Woodland.

And you could even argue the team could have used him as a player at Bethpage Black given his power off the tee.

Woodland was ranked 1st for Driving Distance at the recent Procore Championship and his 19th place (he shot lower each day) represented a third straight top 25 on the PGA Tour.

That followed 23rd at the Wyndham Championship and 20th in the 3M Open so he's in good nick.

Woodland also appears on the radar due to past exploits in the Far East.

He's a two-time runner-up of the now defunct CIMB Classic in Malaysia, has a second and a third in his last two starts at the CJ Cup in South Korea and was fifth in the inaugural edition of this event.

A runner-up in Houston earlier this year, Woodland has been hinting at a first win since his brain surgery just over two years ago. Hopefully it comes now.

One other thing to note is that four of the five runnings of this tournament that were held in Japan were won by major winners.

That bodes well for 2019 US Open champion Woodland.

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*You can follow me on Twitter @DaveTindallgolf

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Now read Steve Rawlings' Baycurrent Classic preview here