The PGA Tour's annual trip to Japan comes with a new name and a new golf course, Yokohama Country Club now playing host to the Baycurrent Classic where previously we had the ZOZO at Narashino, but much else stays the same – including the identities of the favourites.

Xander Schauffele won Olympic gold in Tokyo, Collin Morikawa won this tournament two years ago and Hideki Matsuyama won it two years before that, so the big three all have obvious claims as well as varying degrees of local connection. Matsuyama's are obvious, but Morikawa's father is Japanese-American and Schauffele's family also have strong ties to Japan, which is a big part of the reason they all keep coming back.

For Schauffele and Morikawa, this limited-field, no-cut event is also a nice way to return to action following Ryder Cup disappointment and there was some promise from both of them at Bethpage, particularly the way Schauffele thrashed Jon Rahm in the singles. Matsuyama meanwhile made a run at the BMW PGA title on his Wentworth debut but stalled badly on Saturday and his driver continues to be a bit of a problem.

Picking between them isn't easy but the course may help. Yokohama's composite is a mid-length par 71 with two short par-fives and just three par-threes, but the biggest available clue might be the success of Yuki Inamori in three Japan Golf Tour events held here.

Remarkably, Inamori (course form of 1-5-12) has topped that tour's driving accuracy charts in each of his 10 seasons as a member, and in general contenders have tended to be straighter than they are strong.