Professional golfer Billy Horschel talks to U.S. troops and civilians at Yokohama Country Club near Tokyo on Oct. 7, 2025. (Patrick Bowman)
TOKYO — U.S. service members are volunteering to keep score for professional golfers and collect information for broadcasters during a PGA Tour event at Yokohama Country Club this week.
Seventy-five military members stationed in and around Tokyo, including troops from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, are volunteering their time at the Baycurrent Classic, which teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday.
Separately, about 50 U.S. service members, including some of the volunteers, spent Tuesday at the Yokohama course while the professionals played a practice round, according to Patrick Bowman, manager of Tama Hills Golf & Resort, a U.S. Air Force course in Tokyo.
American troops have volunteered at professional golf tournaments in Japan since the first PGA Tour event was held there in 2019, when Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club in Chiba prefecture.
Now called the Baycurrent Classic, the tournament draws some of the game’s top stars, including major winners Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott.
Some military volunteers will keep score, a job that involves walking with players inside the ropes that separate them from fans. Others are relaying information such as club selection and yardage to broadcasters who can include it in their commentary, Bowman said by phone Wednesday.
“We are the eyes and ears of the broadcaster in the field,” he said of the volunteers.
The players and tournament staff appreciate the troops’ involvement, including their English language skills, Bowman said.
“All the players I talk to have mentioned the active duty,” he said. “The players love seeing us.”
Air Force Lt. Col. Phillip Barras, a dentist at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, was at the practice round.
He and other service members met pro players Woodland, Olympic gold medalist Schauffele and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa at the course, Barras said by phone Wednesday.
“The players say they like coming to Japan because it’s not as rowdy and they can focus on the golf,” he said.
Members of the U.S. military community in Japan pose with American golf pro Billy Horschel at Yokohama Country Club near Tokyo on Oct. 7, 2025. (Patrick Bowman)
Billy Horschel, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, spent the most time with the troops, answering questions, giving out golf tips, demonstrating shots and signing autographs, Barras said.
Horschel talked about his golf career and overcoming adversity and showed them how to move the ball sideways in the air and put extra spin on shots, Barras said.
The practice round was family friendly with areas where kids could get up close to the action, he said. He and his son collected about 10 players’ autographs on a souvenir flag, he said.
