With one win and four top-20 performances during the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, Patrick Cantlay enters The American Express 2021 ranked seventh in the FedEx Cup standings. Cantlay won his third career PGA Tour event at the Zozo Championship in October, and he followed that up with a T-17 finish at the Masters and a T-13 showing at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Cantlay also earned a top-10 finish at this event in 2019, and he enters this week's tournament as the 14-1 favorite, according to the latest 2021 American Express odds from William Hill Sportsbook. The first tee times are set for 12:10 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Cantlay is followed by Patrick Reed (16-1), Brooks Koepka (18-1) and Scottie Scheffler (18-1) on top of the PGA odds board. Meanwhile, last year's champion, Andrew Landry, is going off as a massive 125-1 long shot to repeat. Before locking in your 2021 The American Express picks or entering any PGA DFS tournaments on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour in June. In fact, it's up over $12,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
In the final standard PGA event of 2020, McClure nailed Viktor Hovland's win at +2500 in his best bets. That was one of many huge calls he made last year. After nailing Sergio Garcia (+5500) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McClure finished up over $6,200 yet again on his best bets. The model had him in the top five from the start and McClure's best bets included Garcia winning outright. Those who followed that advice saw a massive +5500 return.
He also finished profitable at the U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff. McClure hit a top-five bet (+1200) on Doc Redman at the Wyndham Championship, finishing up over $700 on his best bets. Those are just some of his recent big returns.
In all, the advanced computer model has also nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.
Now that The American Express 2021 field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
The model's top 2021 The American Express predictions
One huge shocker the model is calling for at The American Express 2021: Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champion and one of the top Vegas favorites at William Hill, barely cracks the top 10. Koepka had a strong showing at the Masters in November, earning a seventh place finish at Augusta National. However, Koepka missed the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December, and he's finished outside the top-25 seven times in his last 10 starts on the PGA Tour.
Koepka's inconsistent performances can be directly attributed to his inability to find the fairway off the tee. The seven-time PGA Tour champion enters this week's event ranked 214th in driving accuracy percentage (52.60), which doesn't bode well for his chances to finish on top of the leaderboard this week. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in The American Express 2021 field.
Another surprise: Abraham Ancer, a 30-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Ancer certainly has the game to be near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. The 29-year-old has recorded five top-20 finishes already this season, which includes a fourth-place showing at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
In addition, Ancer enters this week's event ranked inside the top-35 on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy percentage (71.90), birdie average (4.50) and greens in regulation percentage (72.78). Plus, Ancer ranks 12th on tour in total birdies (135), which makes him a great value pick this week for The American Express 2021 bets.
How to make 2021 The American Express picks
Also, the model is targeting four other golfers with odds of 22-1 or higher to make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big. You can only see them here.
So who wins The American Express 2021? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 The American Express leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed six golf majors and is up over $12,000 since the restart, and find out.
2021 The American Express odds (via William Hill)
Patrick Cantlay 14-1
Patrick Reed 16-1
Brooks Koepka 18-1
Scottie Scheffler 18-1
Tony Finau 20-1
Sungjae Im 22-1
Matthew Wolff 25-1
Abraham Ancer 30-1
Kevin Na 33-1
Russell Henley 33-1
Rickie Fowler 40-1
Paul Casey 40-1
Cameron Champ 40-1
Phil Mickelson 45-1
Adam Long 45-1
Adam Hadwin 50-1
Lanto Griffin 50-1
Sam Burns 50-1
Patton Kizzire 55-1
Brian Harman 55-1
Si-Woo Kim 55-1
Zach Johnson 60-1
Emiliano Grillo 60-1
Ryan Moore 60-1
Charles Howell 60-1
Aaron Wise 60-1
Gary Woodland 70-1
Alex Noren 70-1
Erik Van Rooyen 70-1
Chris Kirk 70-1
Cameron Davis 70-1
Russell Knox 80-1
Doc Redman 80-1
Talor Gooch 80-1
Sepp Straka 80-1
J.T. Poston 80-1
Joel Dahmen 80-1
Charley Hoffman 80-1
Cameron Tringale 80-1
Lucas Glover 80-1
Matt Jones 90-1
Tom Hoge 90-1
Kevin Streelmam 90-1
Francesco Molinari 100-1
Brendan Steele 100-1
Keegan Bradley 100-1
Chez Reavie 100-1
Scott Piercy 100-1
Nick Taylor 100-1
Peter Malnati 100-1
James Hahn 100-1
Maverick McNeal 100-1
John Huh 100-1
