The week after a major is typically time for golfers to take a break, but 37 Masters competitors are scheduled to tee off Thursday when the 2021 RBC Heritage gets started at Harbour Town Golf Links. That includes world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, defending RBC Heritage champion Webb Simpson and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa. The course in Hilton Head Island, S.C., features small greens and there is trouble everywhere off the fairway, but it is one of the gems of the PGA Tour.
Johnson is listed as the 10-1 favorite in the latest 2021 RBC Heritage odds from William Hill Sportsbook, with Simpson as the 12-1 second favorite, followed by Patrick Cantlay at 16-1. Other golfers in the 2021 RBC Heritage field expected to contend are Morikawa (20-1), Daniel Berger (22-1) and Will Zalatoris (25-1). Before you finalize your 2021 RBC Heritage 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 at Harbour Town. Before last year's event, he had Simpson among his contenders despite the former U.S. Open champ coming in off a missed cut.
"Stunned a lot of folks with missed cut last week at Charles Schwab," Johnson said at the time. "Still, has played well at Harbour Town." Simpson had finished in the top 20 six previous times on the course, and Johnson expected more success.
The result? Simpson set the tournament scoring record at 22 under, shooting 7-under 64 in the final round to hold off a stern challenge from Abraham Ancer and win by a stroke.
Before Hideki Matsuyama won last week's Masters, Johnson made special mention of Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and 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 singled out 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 and touted Tyrell Hatton to get his first tour victory the following week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 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 RBC Heritage expert picks
Shockingly, the golf expert is fading favorite Dustin Johnson this week. The South Carolina native has been out of sorts since February, and he missed the cut last week in failing to defend his Masters title. The two-time major champion has shot 73 or worse in six of his past 10 stroke-play rounds and finished T-48 and T-54 in the two full-field events before getting to Augusta. He also failed to advance at the Match Play, then pulled out of the Valero Texas Open. Johnson believes there are several better options in the 2021 RBC Heritage field.
On the other hand, Johnson knows a course like Harbour Town sets up perfectly for guys like Simpson. The long game can overshadow players who make great shots, but the Hilton Head track rewards them. Simpson ranks first in scrambling, fifth in driving accuracy (71.26 percent) and 23rd in greens in regulation (69.84). That's why he has finished 16th or better seven of the 11 times he has played there. The 35-year-old has actually played well at most courses, finishing in the top 10 four times this season, and over his past six events he is 39 under par.
The golf guru has been watching Morikawa with intense interest since even before his two victories last season. After winning the 2019 Barracuda Championship, Morikawa got his second victory at the Workday Charity in July and took the PGA Championship the following month. The 24-year-old also won the WGC-Workday in February and has surged to No. 4 in the world. He tied for 18th at Augusta last week, and he is fifth on tour in greens in regulation (72.36 percent), sixth in driving accuracy (70.71) and leads in strokes gained approach (1.238).
How to make 2021 RBC Heritage predictions
This week, Johnson is also touting a huge long shot who comes in higher than 80-1. This golfer has a history of playing well at Harbour Town and other courses where shot-making is rewarded. You can only see who it is here.
Who wins the RBC Heritage 2021? Where do Cantlay and Zalatoris finish? And which 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 2021 RBC Heritage, all from the insider who was all over Webb Simpson's run last year.
2021 RBC Heritage odds
Dustin Johnson 10-1
Webb Simpson 12-1
Patrick Cantlay 16-1
Collin Morikawa 20-1
Daniel Berger 22-1
Cameron Smith 25-1
Will Zalatoris 25-1
Tyrrell Hatton 25-1
Paul Casey 28-1
Corey Conners 28-1
Sungjae Im 30-1
Sergio Garcia 30-1
Abraham Ancer 30-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 30-1
Tommy Fleetwood 30-1
Brian Harman 33-1
Si-Woo Kim 40-1
Kevin Na 40-1
Lee Westwood 40-1
Shane Lowry 40-1
Matt Kuchar 50-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1
Harris English 50-1
Billy Horschel 50-1
Robert MacIntyre 50-1
Charley Hoffman 50-1
Kevin Kisner 66-1
Russell Henley 66-1
Matt Wallace 66-1
Branden Grace 66-1
Chris Kirk 66-1
Ian Poulter 66-1
Cameron Davis 75-1
Emiliano Grillo 75-1
Dylan Frittelli 80-1
Sebastian Munoz 80-1
Carlos Ortiz 80-1
Sam Burns 80-1
J.T. Poston 90-1
Kevin Streelman 90-1
Alex Noren 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1
Brendon Todd 100-1
Lucas Glover 100-1
C.T. Pan 100-1
Zach Johnson 100-1
Harold Varner 125-1
Michael Thompson 125-1
Charles Howell 125-1
Stewart Cink 125-1
Andrew Putnam 125-1
Doug Ghim 125-1
Aaron Wise 125-1
Adam Long 150-1
Sepp Straka 150-1
Matthew NeSmith 150-1
Harry Higgs 150-1
Luke List 150-1
Richy Werenski 150-1
Ryan Moore 150-1
Patton Kizzire 150-1
Russell Knox 150-1
Danny Willett 150-1
Byeong Hun An 150-1
Denny McCarthy 150-1
Chase Seiffert 150-1
Brandt Snedeker 150-1
Mackenzie Hughes 150-1
Doc Redman 150-1
Tyler McCumber 150-1
Jim Furyk 150-1
Wyndham Clark 150-1
Rory Sabbatini 150-1
Brandon Hagy 175-1
Graeme McDowell 175-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Patrick Rodgers 200-1
Hudson Swafford 200-1
Tom Hoge 200-1
Chez Reavie 200-1
Ben Martin 200-1
Maverick McNealy 200-1
Brice Garnett 200-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 200-1
Will Gordon 250-1
Scott Piercy 250-1
Kyle Stanley 250-1
Scott Stallings 250-1
Camilo Villegas 250-1
Henrik Norlander 250-1
Chesson Hadley 250-1
Tom Lewis 250-1
Anirban Lahiri 300-1
Mark Hubbard 300-1
Satoshi Kodaira 300-1
Adam Schenk 300-1
Pat Perez 300-1
Brian Gay 300-1
Jason Dufner 300-1
Scott Brown 300-1
Robert Streb 300-1
Bo Hoag 300-1
Rafael Campos 300-1
Robby Shelton 300-1
Peter Malnati 300-1
Andrew Landry 300-1
Brian Stuard 300-1
Vaughn Taylor 400-1
Tyler Duncan 400-1
Wesley Bryan 400-1
Troy Merritt 400-1
Danny Lee 400-1
Bill Haas 400-1
Davis Love 500-1
Scott Harrington 500-1
Ryan Armour 500-1
Luke Donald 500-1
Sung-Hoon Kang 500-1
Austin Cook 500-1
Ted Potter 500-1
Xinjun Zhang 500-1
Bryson Nimmer 500-1
Jim Herman 500-1
William McGirt 500-1
John Augenstein 500-1
Nick Watney 500-1
Beau Hossler 500-1
Michael Gligic 500-1
Kevin Tway 500-1
Michael Kim 750-1
Bo Van Pelt 750-1
K.J. Choi 750-1
Hunter Mahan 1000-1
Martin Trainer 1000-1
