Odds Outlook: Defending champ Xander Schauffele returns to Japan as betting favorite

The FedExCup Fall series heads abroad for the next four events, beginning with the Baycurrent Classic at the Yokohama Country Club in Japan. Xander Schauffele (+1000) returns to the Land of the Rising Sun to defend his title and is the favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook against a field of 72 players.

Golf in Japan has always inspired the Californian, whose mother’s side of the family is Japanese. Schauffele earned his 10th victory on Tour here last year, his most recent win. In 2021, he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. His 2026 season was highlighted by podium finishes of solo third place at The Players Championship and solo second place at the Rocket Classic. He finished 14th in the FedExCup but had a disappointing 1-3-0 record at the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club. I would expect a spirited defense on a course where he posted rounds of 63 and 64 to win in 2025.

Wyndham Clark (+1500), the reigning U.S. Open champion and three-time winner on Tour in 2026, sits as the second choice behind his Presidents Cup teammate. Clark, who went 1-4 at Medinah CC, had more success on his own ball, winning THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and BMW Championship. With his three victories coming in his last 11 starts, he arrives as the hottest player in the field and the highest-ranked player, No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He won a shootout in Dallas, a major championship and a FedExCup Playoff event hosted at a former major championship venue in Bellerive Country Club. Clark gets a second look at Yokohama CC (par-71, 7,322 yards), a track where he didn’t break 70 until his final round of 68 earned him T48 in 2025.

Collin Morikawa (+1600), who partnered with Clark at the Presidents Cup to go 1-2 together, defeated Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) in Singles to push the U.S. Team to a 17-13 victory. This week, both players are in the field as past champions. Both won titles at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club northeast of Tokyo, and each landed in the top 20 here last year. Morikawa (T14), the winner at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, has battled consistent back issues for most of the summer and fall, but owns seven Tour victories in his career. Matsuyama (T20) enters with 11 Tour trophies on his mantel, but none in his last 45 starts, stretching back to January of 2025 when he mauled The Plantation Course at Kapalua. The Japanese crowd favorite this week owns eight consecutive paydays of T28 or better, including T14 or better in six.

Globe-trotting Ryan Gerard (+2200) headlines the quartet of players sharing fourth choice at FanDuel. After he earned solo-third place money at The Tour Championship, the North Carolina native was not selected as a Presidents Cup pick. He passed on playing in his home state at the Biltmore Championship Asheville. Instead, he headed abroad and played three weeks on the DP World Tour, signing for paydays of T30, T27 and T14. The No. 23 player in the world, Gerard cashed solo second to start the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and lost in a playoff at the Memorial Tournament. I’ll remind you he also finished second in South Africa in the penultimate week of the 2025 calendar year at the Mauritius Open. His game travels, folks.

Jacob Bridgeman (+2200) holed the putt to officially declare the U.S. Team the winners of the Presidents Cup. The best putter on Tour (No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting) finished ninth at the BMW Championship and T4 at the Tour Championship before winning for the second time in 2026 at the Biltmore Championship Asheville. He’s hot!

U.S. teammate Justin Thomas (+2200) thrived in his role of mentor and veteran leader at Medinah CC. The 16-time winner on Tour finished in the top 10 only twice in 17 starts in 2026, both on tracks where he won before (TPC Sawgrass, Quail Hollow Club). In his younger days, Thomas thrived playing half a world away. He won twice in Korea (CJ Cup Nine Bridges), twice in Malaysia (CIMB Classic), and did the Sentry-Sony double in Hawaii to start 2017. He shared second in 2024 at Accordia Golf with Max Greyserman (+4500), the 2025 runner-up at Yokohama Country Club.

The Australian duo of Min Woo Lee (+2200) and Adam Scott (+2700) were also part of the International Team that suffered heartbreak at the Presidents Cup. Lee, who cashed solo second at the Genesis Scottish Open and T4 at the Tour Championship recently, has only one Tour win, the 2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open. Lee cashed T10 on this track in 2025 and earned T6 money at Accordia Golf in 2023. A 14-time winner on Tour, Scott must revert to the 2020 Genesis Invitational for his last triumph. His current form is highlighted by T16 or better in five consecutive starts on his own ball, including T2 at the BMW PGA Championship the week before the Presidents Cup. Scott posted three rounds of 70 or better here in 2026 for T27.

Here's a look at the odds for other notables in the field, with odds via FanDuel:

• +3000: Maverick McNealy, Kurt Kitayama, Michael Thorbjornsen, Doug Ghim, Matt Wallace
• +3300: Sungjae Im, Rickie Fowler, Michael Brennan
• +3500: Keith Mitchell, Jordan Spieth
• +4000: Keegan Bradley, Alex Smalley
• +4500: Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim, Johnny Keefer, Kevin Yu
• +5500: Ben Kohles, Jackson Suber, Max Homa
• +6000: Ryo Hisatsune, Steven Fisk, Brian Harman, Jordan Smith
• +6500: Beau Hossler, Stephen Jaeger, Davis Thompson
• +7000: Ricky Castillo, Zach Bauchou, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Billy Horschel
• +8000: Kevin Roy, Taylor Pendrith, Takumi Kanaya, Mac Meissner, Sahith Theegala, Pierceson Coody, Lee Hodges

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