The sprint to the PGA Tour finish line begins Thursday with the top 125 players teeing it up at TPC Boston for the 2020 Northern Trust. The 2020 FedEx Cup Playoffs culminate with the champion being decided from a 30-man field at East Lake on Sept. 7, and then it's on to the U.S. Open two weeks later at Winged Foot. This is the second year the PGA playoffs have featured just three events, and 2019 champion Rory McIlroy is among the favorites at 14-1 in the latest 2020 Northern Trust odds at William Hill.

FedEx standings leader Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau are the 12-1 co-favorites, while world No. 1 Jon Rahm sits at 14-1 along with McIlroy. Other notables in the Northern Trust golf 2020 field include Dustin Johnson (18-1), Brooks Koepka (30-1) and Tiger Woods (40-1). Before making any 2020 Northern Trust picks, you need to check out the latest PGA Tour predictions from SportsLine's resident golf insider, Sal Johnson. 

A media legend and consummate golf insider, Johnson has been locked in this season, and anyone who has followed his advice has hit big. Before this month's WGC-St. Jude Invitational, Johnson tabbed Justin Thomas in his best bets and also touted 100-1 long shot Phil Mickelson to contend for the title. Thomas won by three strokes, while the 50-year-old Mickelson tied for second.

He also pegged Sungjae Im as a top contender before his first Tour win at the Honda Classic in March and touted surging Tyrrell Hatton before his breakthrough at the Arnold Palmer.

The golf expert also had a stellar 2019 season, when he featured Woods in his best bets for the Masters, and Woods walked away with his fifth green jacket. Then, Johnson promoted Koepka in his PGA Championship best bets, and Koepka made a mockery of that tournament, building a seven-shot lead entering the weekend and rolling to victory.

In last season's FedEx Cup Playoffs, Johnson completely nailed the season-ending Tour Championship. He predicted Koepka, McIlroy or Xander Schauffele would win, and those were the top three finishers. Anyone who followed Johnson's golf picks saw huge returns.

Now, Johnson, the first producer of "Inside the PGA Tour," a longtime ABC Sports golf producer who has worked with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman, and the founder of the world's top golf statistics database, has released his highly confident 2020 Northern Trust picks here, and they will surprise you.

Top 2020 Northern Trust expert picks

Johnson is fading Collin Morikawa, even though the phenom just won his first major and has been on fire since the break. The 23-year-old comes in among the favorites, but the golf expert says his lack of distance combined with subpar putting could doom him, so he is passing on him this week.

However, Johnson expects a lot from DeChambeau, who has bulked up and become the biggest hitter on tour. The 26-year-old ranks first in driving distance at just shy of 324 yards and also leads in total strokes gained and scoring average. He has nine top-10 finishes in his 14 events this season, including his Rocket Mortgage victory, and shot 66 in the final two rounds to tie for fourth at the PGA Championship in his last start.

Fan favorite Rickie Fowler has been inconsistent as he goes through changes to his swing, but Johnson is keyed in on his strengths. The 31-year-old has shot in the 60s in five of his past eight rounds but missed the cut twice after opening with an 80 at the Memorial and a 73 at the PGA Championship. He also shot 73 to finish a disappointing 15th at the WGC-St. Jude Invitational. He has finished in the top 25 six times and missed six cuts in his 13 events.

How to make 2020 Northern Trust predictions

This week in Boston, Johnson is all over a monster long shot who comes in at odds higher than 50-1. This dark horse has skills that should mesh perfectly with the setup at TPC Boston, and he could be primed for a major breakthrough. See who it is, and get all of Johnson's top PGA picks, right here.

Who wins the Northern Trust 2020? Where do DeChambeau and Fowler finish? And which monster long shot is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson's full leaderboard, picks and analysis for the 2020 Northern Trust, all from the insider who has crushed his golf picks. 

2020 Northern Trust odds (via William Hill)

Justin Thomas 12-1
Bryson DeChambeau 12-1
Jon Rahm 14-1
Rory McIlroy 14-1
Dustin Johnson 18-1
Xander Schauffele 20-1
Collin Morikawa 20-1
Jason Day 25-1
Brooks Koepka 25-1
Patrick Cantlay 28-1
Webb Simpson 28-1
Patrick Reed 28-1
Daniel Berger 28-1
Tony Finau 33-1
Hideki Matsuyama 40-1
Tiger Woods 40-1
Adam Scott 45-1
Rickie Fowler 50-1
Justin Rose 50-1
Gary Woodland 50-1
Tyrell Hatton 50-1
Sung-Jae Im 50-1
Tommy Fleetwood 50-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 50-1
Paul Casey 50-1
Scottie Scheffler 55-1
Abraham Ancer 55-1
Viktor Hovland 66-1
Jordan Spieth 66-1
Matthew Wolff 66-1
Billy Horschel 66-1
Louis Oosthuizen 70-1
Si-Woo Kim 70-1
Kevin Kisner 70-1
Marc Leishman 80-1
Harris English 80-1
Shane Lowry 90-1
Cameron Champ 90-1
Brendon Todd 90-1
Byeong Hun An 100-1
Harold Varner 100-1
Phil Mickelson 100-1
Matt Kuchar 100-1
Alex Noren 125-1
Russell Henley 125-1
Joaquin Niemann 125-1
Bubba Watson 125-1
Ian Poulter 125-1
Doc Redman 125-1
Kevin Na 150-1
Tom Lewis 150-1
Ryan Palmer 150-1
Dylan Frittelli 150-1
Brendan Steele 150-1
Emiliano Grillo 150-1
Adam Hadwin 150-1
Ryan Moore 150-1
Joel Dahmen 150-1
Chez Reavie 150-1
Richy Werenski 175-1
Corey Conners 175-1
Charley Hoffman 200-1
Kevin Streelman 200-1
Lucas Glover 200-1
Brian Harman 200-1
Cameron Smith 200-1
Brandt Snedeker 200-1
Henrik Norlander 200-1
Max Homa 200-1
Charles Howell 200-1
Patrick Rodgers 200-1
Zach Johnson 200-1
Luke List 200-1
Sam Burns 200-1
Mackenzie Hughes 200-1
Keegan Bradley 200-1
Jason Kokrak 200-1
Bud Cauley 250-1
Adam Long 250-1
Lanto Griffin 250-1
Pat Perez 250-1
Maverick McNealy 250-1
Jim Herman 250-1
J.T. Poston 250-1
Cameron Tringale 250-1
Mark Hubbard 250-1
Ryan Armour 250-1
Sepp Straka 250-1
Michael Thompson 250-1
Scott Stallings 250-1
Cameron Davis 250-1
Rory Sabbatini 250-1
Tom Hoge 300-1
Talor Gooch 300-1
Nick Taylor 300-1
Denny McCarthy 300-1
Sam Ryder 300-1
Matt Jones 300-1
Brice Garnett 300-1
Adam Schenk 300-1
Graeme McDowell 300-1
Tyler Duncan 300-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 300-1
Vaughn Taylor 300-1
Xinjun Zhang 350-1
Andrew Landry 350-1
Scott Piercy 350-1
Brian Stuard 400-1
Keith Mitchell 400-1
Troy Merritt 400-1
Beau Hossler 400-1
Danny Lee 400-1
Sung-Hoon Kang 400-1
Matthew NeSmith 500-1
Nate Lashley 500-1
Bo Noah 500-1
Carlos Ortiz 500-1
Robby Shelton 500-1
Scott Harrington 500-1
Sebastian Munoz 500-1
Harry Higgs 500-1
Scott Bron 500-1
Wyndham Clark 500-1
Zac Blair 750-1
Brian Gay 750-1