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The 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open begins on Thursday with tee times starting at 9:20 a.m. ET at TPC Scottsdale, and the PGA Tour's most raucous event will be allowing a limited number of fans on the property this week. And while the famed 16th hole isn't likely to be as crowded and loud as you'd typically expect, the presence of fans for the first time since the 2020 Vivint Houston Open should ratchet up the intensity nonetheless. And with four of the top six players in the world scheduled to play, the golf should provide fans with quite the spectacle.

Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are currently duking it out for second in the world rankings and come in on top of William Hill Sportsbook's 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open odds board at 7-1 and 9-1, respectively. However, other top players like Rory McIlroy (11-1), Xander Schauffele (11-1) and Webb Simpson (16-1) are all serious contenders near the top of this week's PGA Tour odds as well. With such a strong Waste Management Phoenix Open 2021 field, be sure to check out the predictions and projected leaderboard from SportsLine's advanced computer model before locking in your 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open picks. 

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 $11,000 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 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open 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 Waste Management Phoenix Open predictions 

One huge shocker the model is calling for at the Waste Management Phoenix Open 2021: Justin Thomas, a 13-time PGA Tour champion and one of the top Vegas favorites, barely cracks the top five. Thomas has finished T-12 or better in every start this season, and he's finished fourth or better in three of his last four starts. 

However, Thomas has failed to crack the top-15 in four of his last six starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Thomas' inconsistent performances at TPC Scottsdale can be directly attributed to his inability to find the fairway off the tee. The 27-year-old enters this week's event ranked 121st in driving accuracy percentage (59.82), which doesn't bode well for his chances to finish on top of the leaderboard. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the Phoenix Open 2021 field.

Another surprise: Hideki Matsuyama, a 22-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. Matsuyama 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. Matsuyama hasn't won since 2017, but he's had six top-three finishes in the last two seasons and is currently No. 23 in the Official World Golf Ranking after recording nine top-25 finishes in his last 14 worldwide starts.

Matsuyama has absolutely dominated TPC Scottsdale throughout his career, winning the 2016 and 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Opens and finishing t-16th or better in six of the seven times he's played the event (he withdrew in 2018 with a wrist injury). The relatively simple greens complexes at TPC Scottsdale allow his incredible tee-to-green game to shine, as Matsuyama has ranked top 10 in strokes gained tee-to-green in every season but one since 2014. 

How to make 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open picks

Also, the model is targeting four other golfers with odds of 20-1 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 Waste Management Phoenix Open 2021? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed six golf majors and is up over $11,000 since the restart, and find out. 

2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open odds (via William Hill)

Jon Rahm 7-1
Justin Thomas 8-1
Xander Schauffele 11-1
Rory McIlroy 11-1
Webb Simpson 16-1
Daniel Berger 20-1
Hideki Matsuyama 22-1
Harris English 28-1
Sungjae Im 33-1
Rickie Fowler 40-1
Bubba Watson 40-1
Will Zalatoris 45-1
Scottie Scheffler 45-1
Ryan Palmer 45-1
Gary Woodland 45-1
Matthew Wolff 45-1
Billy Horschel 50-1
Matt Kuchar 50-1
Jason Day 50-1
Louis Oosthuizen 50-1
Si-Woo Kim 60-1
Russell Henley 66-1
Corey Conners 66-1
Max Homa 70-1
Henrik Norlander 70-1
Cameron Champ 70-1
Sam Burns 70-1
Carlos Ortiz 70-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Jordan Spieth 80-1
Brian Harman 80-1
Brendan Steele 80-1
Byeong Hun An 80-1
Talor Gooch 90-1
Sebastian Munoz 90-1
Adam Long 100-1
Patton Kizzire 100-1
Chris Kirk 100-1
Keegan Bradley 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1