Driving and the short game lined up best with last October's leaderboard at Yokohama Country Club, and the man who won there, Xander Schauffele, is my cash anchor at $11,000. My pick to win is Wyndham Clark at +1500, and Ben Kohles at $7,900 is the best value on the board. The forecast never pushes sustained wind past 8 mph, so the draw barely matters. Nobody in the field carries an OUT tag, but ten players come back from breaks of four events or longer, and the role-by-role Top Plays table closes out the piece.
High Impact Injuries
| Player | Salary | Flag | DFS read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keegan Bradley | $8,000 | 62 days off, 6 events missed | Longest break in the field, GPP dart at most |
| Justin Thomas | $9,600 | 48 days off, 4 events missed | Too pricey to trust off a layoff, keep out of cash |
| Michael Thorbjornsen | $9,000 | 48 days off, 4 events missed | GPP only, with the course history priced in |
| Jordan Spieth | $8,300 | 55 days off, 5 events missed | Keep out of cash |
| Keith Mitchell | $8,200 | 55 days off, 5 events missed | GPP only |
| Brian Harman | $7,500 | 55 days off, 5 events missed | Keep out of cash |
| Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama, Rickie Fowler, Sahith Theegala | $7,000 to $8,900 | 48 days off, 4 events missed | Tournament exposure only |
Nobody on this list has a withdrawal since April 2025. These flags come from rust after the playoffs, and none of them ties to a reported injury.
The Course
Yokohama Country Club is a par 71 that stretches to 7,315 yards, with fairways that average about 32 yards across. This is only its second year hosting a tour event. None of the usual labels fit cleanly. It does not hand the week to the bombers, it does not turn into a birdie fest, and it does not punish every loose drive either.
So I went to the one edition we have. I lined up last year's results here against this season's strokes gained numbers for everybody who played, and off the tee tracked the leaderboard more closely than any other category. Around the green came next. Approach and putting barely registered, which surprised me, and bogey avoidance mattered more than birdie rate. One year is a thin sample and I am treating it like one.
I still want driving and around the green this week, with bogey avoidance as the tie-breaker. Xander won here, Max Greyserman and Michael Thorbjornsen filled out the top three, and Takumi Kanaya, a $6,900 player this week, finished 4th. The top of last year's board was not only the expensive names.
Weather to Watch
Round 1 | Clear, 63 to 73F | Wind: 2 to 4 mph, gusts 14
Thursday starts cool and finishes warm under clear skies. The afternoon wave gets the stillest air of the week.
Round 2 | Clear, 63 to 75F | Wind: 3 to 4 mph, gusts 14
Friday looks like a copy of Thursday, and the forecast shows zero chance of rain.
Round 3 | Mostly clear, 65 to 76F | Wind: 6 mph, gusts 19
Saturday is the first day with some real breeze in it, and the gusts climb into the high teens after the morning groups go off.
Round 4 | Mostly clear, 69 to 79F | Wind: 5 to 8 mph, gusts 23
Sunday is the windiest round, with gusts in the low 20s from the first tee time on. That only matters for who closes.
Add up Thursday and Friday and the early/late side sees about 2 mph more wind than the late/early side, roughly 1 mph a day. Over two rounds that comes to something like 0.1 strokes. I am ignoring tee times this week. They will not decide a single close call for me.
Course History
1. Xander Schauffele ($11,000; best finish: won in 2025)
He is the defending champion, and he gained 3.80 strokes per round here doing it. He also comes in at plus 1.17 per round across his latest four, which means the history and the form agree on him.
2. Max Greyserman ($7,700; best finish: 2nd in 2025)
Greyserman finished runner-up here at a price that would have looked silly a week earlier. His 2026 has been quieter, with a season total of 0.12 and an early exit at the Bank of Utah last week, so the case rests on this property.
3. Michael Thorbjornsen ($9,000; best finish: 3rd in 2025)
He finished 3rd here and won the Rocket Classic in July. The catch is 48 days away from competition.
4. Takumi Kanaya ($6,900; best finish: 4th in 2025)
Kanaya is the oddest fit on the list. He loses 0.64 strokes per round on approach this season, yet he got it done here with the short game, and he gains 0.29 around the green and 0.35 putting. Three made cuts from his past eight starts is the warning sign.
The Board
Elite ($9,000+)
Xander Schauffele ($11,000 | +1000 | Cash) I know $11,000 is a lot for a guy whose last start was the Tour Championship in late August. He has missed three events, though, not four, and his summer included a 2nd at the Rocket Classic, a 7th at the St. Jude and a 14th at the Tour Championship. He gains 0.56 off the tee, fourth in this field, and he won on this course a year ago. Most of the field will start its lineups right here. I am paying it in cash.
Doug Ghim ($9,200 | +2500 | Cash) Plus 2.10 strokes per round. That is Ghim over his last four events, the best number in the field, and the most recent of them was a runner-up finish at the Bank of Utah last week. He also ranks third here off the tee at 0.64 and second in bogey avoidance at 87.9% of holes, which are the two traits this course rewarded. Two missed cuts in that eight-start window are the knock. I will take that risk at $9,200, and he is my second cash piece.
Wyndham Clark ($10,600 | +1500 | GPP) Clark finished 51st here last year, and I suspect that keeps a lot of people off him. He has played much better golf since. He won the BMW in August and finished 5th at the St. Jude the week before. His season total of 1.15 ranks second here, and over his last eight events he is plus 1.28 per round. The field will still find him, second only to Xander up here, and I want more of him than the field has anyway. GPP-leaning.
Michael Thorbjornsen ($9,000 | +2700 | GPP) He played this course well, he won in July, and he is sitting at $9,000 next to names with thinner resumes. Then you remember his last start was the BMW. That is 48 days and four events away, so I do not trust the floor, and he loses 0.27 per round with the putter. GPP only, and I am fine with a modest share.
High ($8,000-$8,900)
Michael Brennan ($8,600 | +3300 | Cash or GPP) Brennan leads this field off the tee at 0.70 per round. He is plus 1.61 per round across his latest four, his August included a Wyndham win, and he has not missed a cut in eight starts. He loses 0.55 around the green. I can live with that from the best driver on the board. He skipped this event last year, so I have no course record to lean on. I like him in both formats.
Keith Mitchell ($8,200 | +4000 | GPP) Mitchell finished 10th here and gains 0.65 off the tee, second in this field. He also has eight made cuts in a row. The problem is the calendar: 55 days and five events away. I am leaving him out of cash for that reason. As a tournament play he fits the course better than almost anybody in this range.
Kevin Yu ($8,000 | +4000 | GPP) Yu is a birdie maker, with birdie or better on 25.7% of his holes this season. He is plus 1.54 per round across his latest four, he took 4th at the Wyndham, and his 2025 trip here ended in 21st. The season total of 0.45 is ordinary. I trust the recent form more, and +4000 is a number I will play in large fields.
Alex Smalley ($8,100 | +4000 | GPP) Smalley finished 6th here. Everything else is solid without being loud: 0.39 on approach, seven weekends from eight starts, and a 16th at the BMW. Unlike the names above him he has missed only three events during the break. The field will gravitate toward Brennan and Yu in this range, which leaves room for him in tournaments.
Mid ($7,000-$7,900)
Ben Kohles ($7,900 | +6000 | Cash) This is the price I would circle first. Kohles leads the entire field in season total at 1.30, approach at 0.77 and bogey avoidance at 88.3%, and his last eight events average plus 1.72 per round, also the best number here. He has not missed a cut in eight starts, and he finished 19th last week. The one asterisk is the sample size of 44 measured rounds. He has never played this course. At $7,900 I do not care, and he is my cash core.
Johnny Keefer ($7,900 | +4000 | GPP) Keefer drives it at 0.55, fifth in this field, and adds 0.40 on approach. He finished 12th last week and 7th at the Biltmore. The putter is a mess at negative 0.25, and he has five made cuts from eight starts, so the floor is not where I want a cash play. At +4000 the price looks fair for that profile. GPP.
Max Greyserman ($7,700 | +5000 | GPP) He was 2nd here last October. That finish is the full argument, because his season total is just 0.12 and he went home early from the Bank of Utah. Few entries will spend $7,700 on a player coming off a missed cut. That is the reason to take a shot in large fields.
Kevin Roy ($7,100 | +8000 | Cash) Roy is not exciting. He has seven made cuts from eight starts, his last four events sit at plus 1.29 per round, and his finishes since late July read 38th, 24th, 21st and 29th. That is a cash profile at $7,100. He finished 45th here, which I will hold against him a little, and I still want him as the steady piece.
Cheap (under $7,000)
Nick Taylor ($6,800 | +10000 | Cash) Taylor has made the weekend eight straight times, and in this price range that kind of streak is rare. He gains 0.33 around the green, fourth in this field, which lines up with what this course paid for last year. His last four events are down 0.24 per round, so the upside is limited. If your cash build needs salary relief, he is the floor I trust.
Takumi Kanaya ($6,900 | +8000 | GPP) Kanaya finished 4th here last year with a short game that keeps him alive on courses that do not demand perfect irons. The rest of the file is weak: three cuts made in eight tries and a 27th last week. Treat him as a course-history dart for tournaments, and the field will mostly ignore him.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen ($6,900 | +10000 | GPP) He gains 0.48 off the tee, sixth best in the field, and that is the skill I am chasing this week. He has averaged a 20th place finish across his latest four. He made the weekend five times in eight starts, which tells you the floor is shaky. I like him in GPP lineups at a cheap tag.
Lee Hodges ($6,700 | +8000 | GPP) Hodges finished 14th at the Bank of Utah last week and is plus 0.67 per round across his latest four. He gains 0.26 off the tee. He was 44th here last year, so the course gives me no extra reason to play him, and the form is what earns him a spot in tournament builds.
Bets
To Win
Wyndham Clark (+1500) gets my pick to win, and it is the first ticket I would buy on this card. He won the BMW in August, his last eight events are second best in the field, and the board still prices him behind Xander. The 51st here last year is the reason for the price.
Doug Ghim (+2500) leads the field in recent form and drives it well enough for this course. He finished runner-up last week.
Johnny Keefer (+4000) has the tee-to-green numbers of a player priced closer to +2500. The putter keeps the price long.
Long Shots
Max Greyserman (+5000) finished 2nd here last year. I am betting he finds that week again, and nothing in his recent form says he will.
Takumi Kanaya (+8000) finished 4th on this course last October with the short game doing the work. That is a real path at a long number.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+10000) drives it well enough to contend on a course that paid for driving last year. This is a lottery ticket.
Not financial advice. These are model leans, not guarantees. Only bet what you can afford to lose. 21+. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Top Plays
| Player | Role | Salary | FanDuel win | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xander Schauffele | Cash anchor | $11,000 | +1000 | Defending champion, plus 1.17 over his last four |
| Doug Ghim | Cash core | $9,200 | +2500 | Best recent form in the field, runner-up last week |
| Ben Kohles | Cash core | $7,900 | +6000 | Leads the field in total, approach and bogey avoidance |
| Kevin Roy | Cash value | $7,100 | +8000 | Seven cuts in eight |
| Nick Taylor | Cash value | $6,800 | +10000 | Eight straight cuts |
| Michael Brennan | Cash or GPP | $8,600 | +3300 | Best driver in the field, eight straight cuts |
| Wyndham Clark | GPP | $10,600 | +1500 | BMW winner, my pick to win |
| Michael Thorbjornsen | GPP | $9,000 | +2700 | 3rd here, layoff caps the floor |
| Keith Mitchell | GPP | $8,200 | +4000 | 10th here, second best driver in the field |
| Kevin Yu | GPP | $8,000 | +4000 | Plus 1.54 over his last four |
| Johnny Keefer | GPP leverage | $7,900 | +4000 | 7th at the Biltmore, 12th last week |
| Max Greyserman | GPP dart | $7,700 | +5000 | Runner-up here in 2025 |
Final Thoughts
In cash I start with Xander and Ghim and pay for them with Kohles, Roy and Taylor. That gets me the defending champion, the hottest player in the field, the best season profile on the board at $7,900 and two steady cut makers underneath. If the salary works, Brennan is the next upgrade.
In tournaments I expect the field to stack up on Xander, with Morikawa and Clark close behind. I am overweight on Clark and getting different with Mitchell, Yu, Keefer and Thorbjornsen, then filling in with Greyserman, Kanaya and Neergaard-Petersen as the cheap shots at the bottom.
The thing to watch is the clock. Round 1 starts at 7:00 AM in Yokohama, which is Wednesday evening in the United States, so lock comes a full day earlier than a normal week. Get lineups in early.
Tools used for this week
Every number in this playbook comes off the free BankrollSZN tools: this week's PGA DFS projections, PGA strokes gained by category, PGA course history, tee time weather by wave, and the free PGA lineup optimizer.