PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Baycurrent Classic

The Baycurrent Classic will be played at Yokohama Country Club (par 71, 7,322 yards, bentgrass greens) in Yokohama, Japan, for the second year in a row. This event is formerly known as the ZOZO Championship, and in Yokohama’s PGA TOUR debut last season, Xander Schauffele (-19) secured his 10th PGA TOUR win. There will be 72 golfers competing and no cut this week.

The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.

I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.

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My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
• Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
• Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green

Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

Also available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts

DraftKings $10,000 Range

Xander Schauffele ($11,000)

Schauffele is worth this slate-high salary in his title defense. The 10-time PGA TOUR winner posted rounds of 63 and 64 during his win at Yokohama last year, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen him win in Asia, either. He won the 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions in China and took home the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Schauffele is part Asian, with his mother being from China, so it’s no surprise he elevates his game when competing in Asia. While he hasn’t won since Yokohama a year ago, he has been close, posting seven top-10 finishes this season, two of which have come in his past four starts.

Schauffele’s +880 odds to win the Baycurrent Classic on DraftKings Sportsbook are easily the shortest in the field, and a return to the winner’s circle with another victory at Yokohama would be very fitting.

DraftKings $9,000 Range

Justin Thomas ($9,600)

Thomas has never competed at Yokohama, but he has been tremendous in Asia throughout his career, winning THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES twice and the CIMB Classic twice. All of these events were played during the fall, and Thomas ranks first in this field in Strokes Gained per round at fall swing tournaments.

As for his form, Thomas is coming off a strong showing at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago, when he went 2-1-1 in his matches. At standard stroke-play events, Thomas has made 16 straight cuts while producing 10 top-25 finishes along the way. Thomas has finished T16 or better in two of his last three starts, and he should post another high finish at Yokohama.

Ryan Gerard ($9,300)

Gerard has had an awesome season, making 22 of 26 cuts and finishing inside the top 10 seven times, including three runner-up finishes. In his last start, Gerard competed in his first TOUR Championship and shined with a T3 at East Lake. He gained strokes in every category except around the greens. The 27-year-old’s second PGA TOUR win is coming soon, and he should improve on the T27 finish he recorded at Yokohama last season. Gerard was ranked No. 53 in the world heading into that event, and he now returns to Japan at No. 23.

DraftKings $8,000 Range

Sungjae Im ($8,900)

Im finished T20 at Yokohama last season, but it’s safe to expect an even better result this time around. Im has been playing outstanding golf, finishing inside the top 15 in five of his last six starts. He has shot under par in 14 of his last 16 rounds and gained at least 4.0 strokes with his putter in four straight starts.

Im ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting when comparing this field over the last 24 rounds, and his red-hot flat stick should lead him to a high finish this week. With Yokohama featuring large, complex greens, you must produce with your putter at this par-71 course. This was evident during Schauffele’s win here a year ago, when he ranked sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

Michael Brennan ($8,600)

Brennan is a great target in his Baycurrent Classic debut. The Wake Forest product has been on a roll, finishing T24, T15, first, T42, T10, and T13 in his last six starts. That win came at the Wyndham Championship by three shots, and the T13 came at last week’s Bank of Utah Championship.

Brennan ranks third in Strokes Gained: Total when comparing this field over the last 24 rounds. He also ranks third in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Driving Distance for the season, which are great signs for Yokohama. We saw many great drivers overpower this course last season – three of the top-five finishers ranked in the top 10 in driving distance.

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Ben Kohles ($7,900)

Kohles continued to impress at the Bank of Utah Championship last week, finishing T13 after a T15 at the Biltmore Asheville Championship three weeks ago to begin the fall swing. This will be Kohles’ Baycurrent Classic debut, but he shouldn’t slow down at Yokohama. Kohles has made 16 cuts in a row between the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour, and he has posted nine top-25 finishes over that span, including a win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour in June. Kohles ranks second in Strokes Gained: Total when comparing this field over the last 24 rounds, and he is just too cheap for his current form.

Zachary Bauchou ($7,400)

Bauchou is a tough value play to overlook this week, even though this will be his first start in Asia. He has missed only one cut in his last six starts and finished inside the top 25 four times during this stretch. Bauchou finished T13 at the Bank of Utah Championship last week while gaining strokes in every major category. The 30-year-old opened the tournament with a career-low 9-under 62, which also tied for the lowest round of the week. Bauchou has shot under par in 12 straight rounds, and he ranks 10th in Strokes Gained: Total when comparing this field over the last 24 rounds.

Steven Fisk ($7,300)

Fisk is only three months removed from his win at the ISCO Championship in July, impressively his second victory in the last two seasons. Fisk missed three straight cuts after that win, but he has regained his form this fall, finishing T22 at the Biltmore Championship Asheville and T7 at the Bank of Utah Championship last week.

Fisk was firing on all cylinders at both events, gaining strokes in every major category and shooting under par in every round. That included a career-low 8-under 63 in the first round at Black Desert Resort last week. Fisk sits at a career-best No. 73 in the world golf rankings, and he should have a successful Baycurrent Classic debut this week.

Fisk has won during the fall swing before, taking home the big check at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October 2025. His game sets up well for Yokohama, as he ranks in the top 15 in both total driving and par 4 performance this season. Yokohama is a rare par 71 that features 13 par 4s, and when Schauffele won here last year, he finished second in par-4 performance.

DraftKings $6,000 Range

Takumi Kanaya ($6,900)

Kanaya has started the fall swing with some solid finishes, posting a T43 at the Biltmore Championship Asheville and a T25 at the Bank of Utah Championship. He has shot under par in all but one of his eight rounds during this span and will now look to carry this momentum over to Yokohama, where he finished T4 last season.

Kanaya recorded a career-low 9-under 62 in the final round that week, securing his second career top-10 finish in his home country of Japan. Kanaya ranks 27th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, and he should be highly motivated to contend at Yokohama again. He currently sits 142nd in the FedExCup Fall standings, and only the top 100 following the fall swing will earn their PGA TOUR cards for the 2027 season.

Nick Taylor ($6,800)

Taylor has never teed it up at Yokohama, but he has finished inside the top 25 in 3 of 5 starts in Asia and is in strong form right now. Taylor has made 23 of 25 cuts with five top-25 finishes this season. The five-time PGA TOUR winner also had a great Presidents Cup showing two weeks ago, going 2-1-1 in his matches. Taylor is simply underpriced for his talent and is a terrific bargain at this sub-$7,000 salary. He was priced at $7,800 on DraftKings for last week’s Bank of Utah Championship.

Pictured: Xander Schauffele
Photo credit: Imagn