Baycurrent named title sponsor of PGA TOUR’s Japan event reimagined as 'Baycurrent Classic'
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Yokohama Country Club set to host the event for the first time in 2025
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., TOKYO –The PGA TOUR and Baycurrent Inc. announced a multi-year agreement for Japan’s leading comprehensive consulting firm to become the new title sponsor of the PGA TOUR’s Japan event – reimagined as the Baycurrent Classic. The event will also have a new home starting in 2025, as the event relocates to Yokohama Country Club in Yokohama, Kanagawa, to be contested as part of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Fall.
“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,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The pride Baycurrent holds for both its home country and the game of golf will ensure this tournament continues to make meaningful contributions to our game’s growth in Japan and across Asia while showcasing the world’s best to a global audience. We are also 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.”
The PGA TOUR opened its APAC headquarters in Tokyo in 2016 and debuted its first annually sanctioned PGA TOUR tournament in Japan in 2019. Tiger Woods had a dramatic victory at the inaugural event and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama claimed victory in 2021.
The Baycurrent Classic, which is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organization, provides opportunities for JGTO players to test their skills against the PGA TOUR's best. In 2024, 14 JGTO members earned entry into the annual 78-player field based on their performance on the tour, with Yuta Sugiura finishing inside the top 10 (T6).
“We are thrilled to announce our title sponsorship of the Baycurrent Classic in collaboration with the PGA TOUR," said Yoshiyuki Abe, Baycurrent president and representative director. "We have been fortunate to be associated with the PGA TOUR’s global brand for a number of years. We are confident that through golf, a sport beloved across borders, generations and genders, we can further enhance our recognition and corporate value both domestically and internationally."
Baycurrent Inc., Japan’s leading comprehensive consulting firm based in Tokyo contributes to customer growth by providing value-added services that incorporate their clients’ values and cultures, and whose expertise and networks have cultivated a comprehensive problem-solving agency for a range of industries, including high-tech, media, telecommunications, automotive, medical and financial institutions.
Yokohama Country Club, established in 1960, 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 layouts, including 16 holes from the West Course.
“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. “The stage the PGA TOUR provides is second to none and to have our club be recognized as one of the world’s premier courses is truly an honor.”
Every year since 1993, the PGA TOUR has had at least one Japanese player in its membership including four with fully exempt status for the 2025 season: Hideki Matsuyama, Ryo Hisatsune and two new additions, Kaito Onishi – who qualified via the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List – and Rikuya Hoshino, who qualified via the top 10 on the DP World Tour Race to Dubai Eligibility Rankings. 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.