Baycurrent Classic Power Rankings: Top 10 Players To Watch (2025)

October 5, 2025

TourPicks ranks his top-10 Players to watch for at the 2025 Baycurrent Classic in Japan. His insights on the top-10 golfers for the week and reasons why they are primed to win.

The tournament, formally known as the ZOZO Championship, now has a brand new name and a brand new venue. The Baycurrent Classic tees off this week outside of Tokyo in Japan, held at the 7,315-yard Yokohama Country Club. 78 players will compete in this limited field, with several big names again choosing to make this their only event on the FedEx Fall schedule.

In this article, I’ll break down my Top 10 Power Rankings, using recent form and gathering any and all data on Yokohama CC that we could to identify those best set up for success. Let’s get right into my Top 10 Power Rankings for the 2025 Baycurrent Classic:

No. 10 - Matt Wallace

• Wallace made a big summer push in hopes on landing a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, ultimately coming up short, but the form and work were paying off.

• He has two worldwide T3-or-better finishes in his last 6 starts, including the 3M Open (PGA TOUR) and Omega European Masters (DP World Tour).
• Sharp iron play and scrambling ability have been the mainstays for Wallace on this run, which should come in handy as players prep for a brand new course in Japan.

No. 9 - Max Homa

• There's reason to be optimistic that his form is returning off back to back Top 20's during the Fall swing, including a T18 at the Sanderson Farms last week.

• Homa can still get wayward with the driver, but he has drastically improved his iron play over the last four months. He ranks inside the Top 15 in the field in SG: Approach over that span.
• He's a six-time PGA Tour winner and peaked as a top 5 player in the OWGR less than two years ago. Homa has the goods, and it feels closer than it has been in a long time.

No. 8 - Chris Gotterup

• Gotterup ranks 2nd in the field in SG: Total over the last four months. He clearly had a dream summer that included a win outside of U.S. soil at the Scottish Open in July.

• He proved to be more than just a one-hit wonder, finishing inside the Top-10 in four of his last six starts. We haven't seen Gotterup play since August, which is a concern, but we'll see if he can pick right up where he left off in Japan.

• Possesses extreme length and is a reliable gainer with the Driver. Gotterup has gained strokes OTT in 17 consecutive starts.

No. 7 - Emiliano Grillo

• Grillo had a rough week in Mississippi, missing the cut last week, but he's a well-rounded player who has posted good recent results.

• Grillo ranks inside the Top-10 in the field in Ball-striking and Putting over the last four months.
• He has been on the brink and showing form, checking more boxes than most players in the field who may have high name recognition, but in the midst of swing struggles.

No. 6 - Si Woo Kim

• With some uncertainty in terms of course stressors, Kim's a highly accurate player OTT and on Approach that can be relied upon in most course conditions.

• T5 at the BMW PGA Championship a few weeks ago, despite losing slightly with the putter. Kim was very good Tee to Green.
• Ranks 2nd best in the field in SG: Approach over his past 30 rounds played, typically the best barometer for success on the PGA TOUR.

No. 5 - Michael Kim

• 2025 was the best on course year of his life, culminating in a win at the French Open just three weeks ago on the DP World Tour.
• Kim is an above-average wedge player and great with his middle irons, two highly sought-after assets, as it appears these will be tiny greens to hit in regulation.
• Confidence. It's so key and often hard to quantify in golf, but there is no doubt Michael Kim has it right now and should be considered one of the favorites in a field of only 78 players.

No. 4 - Rasmus Hojgaard

• Rallied big time on the weekend at the Sanderson Farms, finished T3 and leading the field in putting and OTT for the week.

• Hojgaard has a Ryder Cup win, 2nd place finish, T2, and a T3, all in his last six worldwide events.
• There are a ton of shorter holes on the scorecard, and the only two Par 5's are under 540 yards. Hojgaard should be able to dominate with the Driver and have plenty of wedges into greens.

No. 3 - Collin Morikawa

• I continue to have major concerns about the form, but there is no doubt he has the pedigree as one of the top players in the field if he can get things going with he putter in Japan.

• It was hard to glean a lot from the Ryder Cup, but Morikawa got whipped both days in Alt-shot before finally playing much better in his Sunday Singles match against Tyrrell Hatton.
• He's done it before. Morikawa struggled with his swing for a period in 2023, then showed up and won the ZOZO Championship in Japan. Team Morikawa is hoping for a spark, and this feels like a good week for it.

No. 2 - Hideki Matsuyama

• He's a past champion at this event and the most highly decorated Japanese player of all time. Matsuyama is only 33 years old, and still has a lot of his career right in front of him.

• He began to play much better in the late summer, finishing inside the Top 20 in four consecutive tournaments around the time of The Open Championship. Matsuyama also finished T13 recently at the BMW PGA in his last start.
• It all hinges on the iron play for Matsuyama. When he is dialed in, he can win any tournament. He's gained strokes on Approach in nine of his last ten starts. Watch out this week!

No. 1 - Xander Schauffele

• 2025 was a tough year for Schauffele, who struggled to recapture his brilliance from the prior year after an early-season rib injury. He's certainly all healed up now, with his eyes set on a return to the top of the PGA TOUR food chain in 2025-2026.
• Arguably, his moment of the year was dominated Jon Rahm in their head-to-head match at the Ryder Cup. Schauffele was back to hunting down pins.
• Statistically, things are on the up and up across the board over the last three months for Schauffele. It's time for him to return to the winners' circle and dominate another limited field tournament where he outclasses 90% of players.

Enjoy the Baycurrent Classic, and thanks for reading! See you next season! Good luck, RotoBaller family!

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