Golf

Japan's Sole PGA Tour Event Gets New Sponsor and Venue Starting in 2025

What was previously known as the ZOZO Championship will become the Baycurrent Classic. The PGA Tour event will now be played at the Yokohama Country Club.

by
Jim Armstrong
December 11, 2024

Looking to attract a wider audience, Japan's one and only PGA Tour golf tournament is getting a new name and a change of venue.

From the fall of 2025, the Baycurrent Classic, formerly known as the ZOZO Championship, will be played at the Yokohama Country Club, which is closer to the Greater Tokyo Area than the previous venue.

Previously, the ZOZO Championship was played at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba Prefecture near Narita Airport, with the exception of one year.

The inaugural tournament was won by Tiger Woods in 2019 when he claimed his 82nd tour victory to tie the all-time record set by Sam Snead. Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama was the tournament champion in 2021 and Colombia's Nico Echavarria won it in October 2024.

The only year the tournament wasn't played in Chiba was in 2020 when it moved to California due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Japan.

In 2025, the 78-player tournament will be co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organization as it was in past years. The exact dates have yet to be determined, but it will be sometime in autumn.

"Since 2019, the PGA Tour's first and only official event in Japan has played a pivotal role in further connecting the PGA Tour and our players to the passionate golf fans of this great country," tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement.

Added Monahan, "We are excited about the event's new home, Yokohama Country Club, one of Japan's premier golf clubs located in close proximity to Tokyo's city center."

PGA Tour Chooses a Well-Established Venue for the Tournament's New Home

Established in 1960, Yokohama Country Club is a 36-hole facility designed by the late Takeo Aiyama. The West Course was remodeled by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2016.

Known for its undulating fairways and dense pine trees, the course will see the field take on a composite of both the East and West layouts.

PFA Tour — *Golfer Hideki Matsuyama speaks to reporters during a news conference in Tokyo on December 11. (ⒸSANKEI)*

"It's an impressive course," Matsuyama said at a press conference introducing the new plans on Wednesday, December 11. "I think players will be able to shoot about 20-under-par there. As a representative of Japanese players, my goal will be to win in 2025."

"Yokohama Country Club has been privileged to host some of the biggest golf events in Japan, and starting next year, we look forward to welcoming the world's best golfers," said Takeyasu Aiyama, president of Yokohama International Golf Club Co, Ltd.

Thanks in part to staging a PGA Tour event in Japan, Japanese players have continued to thrive on the prestigious tour.

The PGA Tour has had at least one Japanese player in its membership every year since 1993.

Matsuyama Headlines Japan's Crop of PGA Tour Players for the 2025 Season

There will be four Japanese players with fully exempt status for the 2025 season, including 2021 Masters champion Matsuyama, Ryo Hisatsune and two new additions, Kaito Onishi and Rikuya Hoshino.

Five Japanese players have accounted for 16 all-time PGA Tour victories, led by Matsuyama, Asia's winningest PGA Tour player with 10 titles, and Shigeki Maruyama with three. Isao Aoki, Ryuji Imada and Satoshi Kodaira have each won once.

Baycurrent Inc is Japan's leading comprehensive consulting firm based in Tokyo with clients in a range of industries, including high-tech, media, telecommunications, automotive, medical and financial institutions.