Products You May Like
After a few months of grinding, PGA Tour golfers will get a slight breather this week when the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans tees off on Thursday. The event at TPC Louisiana is the only official team tournament on the PGA Tour schedule, and players can pair up with friends and share some of the pressure. The format is two best-ball rounds and two of alternate-shot, and the players will need to work in sync. Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer paired up to win the last time the event was played in 2019, and they are back to defend their title.
William Hill Sportsbook lists Rahm and Palmer as the 15-2 favorite in its latest 2021 Zurich Classic odds. Other prominent teams in the 2021 Zurich Classic field include Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (8-1), Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman (12-1), Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff (14-1) and Bubba Watson with Scottie Scheffler (14-1). Before finalizing any 2021 Zurich Classic picks or golf predictions, you need to see who Sal Johnson is backing.
A media legend and consummate golf insider, Johnson has a strong feel for what it takes to win on the PGA Tour.
Before Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters two weeks ago, Johnson made special mention of Jordan Spieth, Schauffele and Will Zalatoris as golfers to watch.
He listed Spieth and Schauffele in his top three contenders and had Zalatoris as his top rookie. Zalatoris nearly caught Matsuyama and finished as runner-up, while Spieth and Schauffele tied for third.
The golf expert knows these players and how they fit the courses. At the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month, he pegged Bryson DeChambeau as his top choice to win before his second victory of the year.
He also knows when surging players are poised for a breakthrough. He tabbed Sungjae Im as a top contender before his first Tour win at the Honda Classic last season before touting Tyrrell Hatton to get his first tour victory the following week. Anyone who has followed Johnson’s advice has cashed in huge.
Now Johnson, the first producer of “Inside the PGA Tour,” a longtime ABC Sports golf producer who worked with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman, and the founder of the world’s top golf stats database, has released his highly confident 2021 RBC Heritage picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see them here.
Top 2021 Zurich Classic expert picks
Shockingly, the golf expert is fading the pairing of Schauffele and Cantlay, which comes in as the second favorite. On paper, it appears to be an unstoppable team, with both ranking in the top 10 in the world. But Schauffele’s blunder that might have cost him the Masters and Cantlay’s sudden and surprising string of missed cuts are red flags. Johnson is heeding those warnings and will go in another direction this week, with several other dynamic duos to choose from in the 2021 Zurich Classic field.
On the other hand, Johnson knows the pairing of Morikawa and Wolff will bring an air of youthful invincibility. Both players have the games to dominate, and Morikawa is ranked fourth in the world and boasts four victories at age 24. Wolff is just 22 and has one victory since turning pro in 2019. Morikawa won the PGA Championship last year and has a win this season in the WGC event at The Concession. The two played junior golf together in California, and Morikawa could help Wolff break out of his funk after he was disqualified by a scorecard mistake at the Masters.
The golf expert also is intrigued by the pairing of Watson and Scheffler, who play similar styles but have different mental approaches. The 42-year-old Watson is a two-time Masters champion and likes to take chances and makes a lot of birdies. The 24-year-old Scheffler is more apt to play it safe. He has finished in the top 20 in four of the past six events and was the runner-up at the WGC-Dell Match Play. Watson is 17th on tour in both strokes gained off the tee and tee-to-green, while Scheffler is 26th in driving accuracy and 31st in greens in regulation.
How to make 2021 Zurich Classic predictions
This week, Johnson says you should keep an eye on a long-shot pairing that is listed higher than 25-1. This team is made up of golfers whose skills should work together seamlessly, and both players have seen some success in the past couple of months. You can only see who it is here.
Who wins the Zurich Classic 2021? Where do Morikawa and Wolff and Watson and Scheffler finish? And which long shot team is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson’s full leaderboard, picks and analysis, all from the insider who has nailed his golf picks.
2021 Zurich Classic odds
J Rahm/R Palmer 15-2
X Schauffele/P Cantlay 8-1
C Smith/M Leishman 12-1
C Morikawa/M Wolff 14-1
B Watson/S Scheffler 14-1
T Finau/C Champ 16-1
C Kirk/B Todd 20-1
B Horschel/S Burns 25-1
D Willett/T Hatton 25-1
J Rose/H Stenson 30-1
M Homa/T Gooch 30-1
B Grace/H Varner 30-1
D Frittelli/K Streelman 33-1
K Bradley/B Steele 33-1
L Oosthuizen/C Schwartzel 33-1
V Hovland/K Ventura 35-1
S Im/B An 40-1
J Dahmen/L Griffin 45-1
L Glover/C Reavie 45-1
D Ghim/J Suh 50-1
S Brown/K Kisner 50-1
R Castro/C Tringale 50-1
T Pieters/T Lewis 50-1
C Hoffman/N Watney 50-1
W Clark/E Van Rooyen 55-1
G McDowell/M Wallace 55-1
A Noren/H Norlander 60-1
R Knox/B Stuard 66-1
M Thompson/W Gordon 66-1
J Kokrak/P Perez 66-1
J.J. Spaun/M Jones 70-1
M Laird/N Taylor 70-1
M McNealy/J Bramlett 80-1
R Werenski/P Uihlein 80-1
B Snedeker/K Mitchell 80-1
T Hoge/B Hossler 100-1
M NeSmith/C Seiffert 100-1
K-H Lee/K Stanley 100-1
D Hearn/S Power 100-1
D Redman/S Ryder 100-1
R Hojgaard/V Taylor 125-1
S Piercy/A Bhatia 125-1
T Duncan/A Schenk 125-1
C Hadley/B Martin 125-1
S Straka/J Teater 125-1
A Landry/A Cook 125-1
B Garnett/S Stallings 125-1
J.B. Holmes/R Garrigus 125-1
J Dufner/D Bozzelli 150-1
X Zhang/C.T. Pan 150-1
T Merritt/R Streb 150-1
R Sloan/A Baddeley 150-1
A Putnam/S Harrington 150-1
K Kraft/K Tway 150-1
J Vegas/A Romero 150-1
G Chalmers/C Percy 175-1
B Hagy/M Kim 175-1
C Beljan/M Every 175-1
R Blaum/J Byrd 200-1
B Hoag/W Roach 200-1
M Hubbard/S Cappelen 200-1
H Higgs/M Gellerman 200-1
P Malnati/C Baker 200-1
R Shelton/K Hickok 200-1
M Trainer/J Hahn 200-1
H Lebioda/B Burgoon 225-1
D Lee/S Bae 250-1
R Campos/M Anderson 250-1
K Stadler/J Wagner 250-1
R Oppenheim/G Murray 250-1
R Gibson/B Taylor 250-1
B Van Pelt/L List 250-1
M Gligic/V Whaley 250-1
K.J. Choi/S Kang 300-1
B Haas/H Mahan 300-1
K Aphibarnrat/A Atwal 300-1
N Ledesma/F Gomez 300-1
T Wilkinson/G McNeill 300-1
D.J. Trahan/R Barnes 300-1
W Austin/R Mediate 1000-1