Staff WriterThe International Series Japan is ready to spin the turnstiles at Chiba’s Caledonian Golf Club from 8–11 May, and—much like a sushi bar at happy hour—it’s shaping up to be standing-room only.
The third stop on the 2025 International Series schedule lures a cast so star-studded the starter might need sunglasses just to read the tee sheet.
A cast with more trophies than baggage tags
Peter Uihlein returns with the swagger of a man who won not once but twice on last year’s circuit, throttling the fields in England and Qatar by a combined 12 strokes. Picture a Formula 1 car among hatchbacks and you’re halfway there.
Lining up beside him is fellow American John Catlin—fresh off topping the 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit—plus Ollie Schniederjans, who opened 2025 by dusting Bryson DeChambeau in India.
Add LIV Golf mainstays Mito Pereira (Torque GC), Sam Horsfield (Majesticks GC), Frederik Kjettrup (Cleeks GC) and teenage prodigy Caleb Surratt (Legion XIII), and the range might need a traffic-controller.
Confirmed headliners
- Peter Uihlein – two-time International Series champ, 2024
- John Catlin – 2024 Asian Tour No. 1, back-to-back wins in Macau and Saudi
- Ollie Schniederjans – 2025 International Series India winner
- Mito Pereira – Tokyo Olympian, Torque GC lynchpin
- Sam Horsfield – T12 in Riyadh, T7 in Adelaide this season
- Lucas Herbert & Harold Varner III – previously confirmed crowd-pleasers
Young guns and local heroes
While Uihlein polishes silverware, two fresh LIV faces are itching to write their own headlines.
Denmark’s Kjettrup, 25, owns three PGA Tour Americas trophies, and 20-year-old Surratt has already banked three top-five finishes since turning pro last year.
If exuberance translated to FedEx points, these two would already be airborne.
The home crowd won’t be shy, either. National icon Ryo Ishikawa anchors a Japanese contingent that includes rising stars Taiga Semikawa, Yuta Sugiura, Takashi Ogiso, Ren Yonezawa, Naoyuki Kataoka and Taihei Sato.
Throw in Asian standouts Taichi Kho, Shugo Imahira and Jinichiro Kozuma and you have a leaderboard capable of inducing vertigo.
“This is one of the most competitive fields we’ve assembled, featuring standout talent from across the LIV Golf League and the Asian Tour. The addition of so many proven international winners adds a new level of anticipation to what’s already shaping up to be a huge week for golf in Japan. With a strong local contingent also in the mix, International Series Japan promises to deliver the kind of drama and quality that defines this series.”
— Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series
Why this stop matters
Caledonian Golf Club—carved through towering pines and whispering sea breezes—has never hosted an International Series event, meaning course notes are scarcer than polite parking-lot conversations between Sergio and Brooks.
Expect strategy to evolve on the fly, with greens that run quicker than gossip on Tour.
The tournament also lands in a sweet-spot on the global schedule: far enough removed from the Masters hangover, close enough to the PGA Championship for players to test their competitive pulse.
Ranking points, confidence and, of course, a slice of the $2 million purse are all on the line.
Parting thoughts
If momentum were measured in decibels, Uihlein’s entrance music would drown out the rest.
But golf isn’t scripted—ask Pereira, who came within a heartbeat of a major, or Schniederjans, who turned hot irons into high fives in Gurgaon.
With youth chomping at the spikes of experience, and a partisan gallery hungry for a homegrown charge, International Series Japan feels less like an inaugural stop and more like the back-nine on Sunday: compelling, unpredictable and utterly unmissable.
Tickets are on sale now, though in true Chiba fashion they may disappear faster than a tray of gyoza at the players’ lounge.
Secure your vantage point while you can and watch the story unfold where pine-needles meet pin positions.
