It could be a showdown between Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas when the PGA Tour gets rolling again with the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions, which tees off Thursday at Kapalua Resort in Maui. Johnson and Thomas have both won the event twice, and both had three victories during the 2020 season. Johnson also won the Masters and the FedEx Cup championship, while Thomas led the standings at the end of the regular-season. Thomas won in a three-way playoff at Kapalua last year, while Johnson won by eight strokes in 2018.
William Hill Sportsbook has Johnson listed as the 6-1 favorite in its latest 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds, while Thomas comes in at 13-2. Other contenders to watch in the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions field include World No. 2 Jon Rahm (15-2), Xander Schauffele (10-1) and U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau (11-1). Before you lock down your 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions picks, 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 Plantation Course. Before last year's event, he tabbed Thomas as one of his top contenders. The result: The former FedEx Cup Champion went 14 under par and outlasted Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele to win a three-man playoff.
The golf guru was spot-on all last season. He was all over Dustin Johnson at the 2020 Masters, calling him a "man with a purpose" and proclaiming he would be nearly impossible to beat. The result: Johnson simply shot the lowest score in event history at 20 under to win by five strokes.
Earlier in the season, he 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 following week.
At the St. Jude Invitational, he said 100-1 longshot Phil Mickelson would contend, and the 50-year-old tied for second. And before their epic duel at Olympia Fields, the stats expert had Rahm and Johnson listed as his top two golfers.
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 Sentry Tournament of Champions picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see them here.
Top 2021 Sentry tournament of Champions expert picks
Johnson is fading Rahm this week, even though the Spaniard has finished in the top 10 at Kapalua three times. Oddsmakers are looking for a strong week from him, but Rahm is making the transition from his TaylorMade clubs after signing a deal with Callaway. A club change usually leads to bumps in the road, so the golf insider suggests this might not be the best week to back the former World No. 1.
On the other hand, the golf expert has been as impressed as anyone by Dustin Johnson, who shot a tournament-record 20 under at the Masters in November. He has not finished lower than sixth in his past seven events, and he hasn't finished outside the top 10 in seven starts in Maui, hitting almost 79 percent of his greens in regulation. He also plays at his best on the biggest stages and also has won the U.S. Open and finished as runner-up in majors three other times.
The golf expert also has been following the career of Schauffele, who has played very well at Kapalua. The 27-year-old won the Tournament of Champions in 2019 at 23 under par and was part of that three-man playoff last year, along with Thomas and Patrick Reed. He has finished in the top 25 in 12 straight events, cracking the top-10 five times. He was fourth on tour in scoring average last year and 10th in greens in regulation, which will be a critical stat this week.
How to make 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions predictions
Johnson is expecting big things from a massive long shot. This young player showed last year in Maui that he has the skills to be a contender on the Plantation Course. Anyone who backs this underdog could cash in big. You can only see who it is here.
Who wins the Sentry Tournament of Champions? Where do Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed 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 Sentry Tournament of Champions, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win at Kapalua.
2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds
Dustin Johnson 6-1
Justin Thomas 13-2
Jon Rahm 15-2
Xander Schauffele 10-1
Bryson DeChambeau 10-1
Patrick Reed 16-1
Hideki Matsuyama 18-1
Patrick Cantlay 18-1
Viktor Hovland 20-1
Webb Simpson 20-1
Collin Morikawa 25-1
Tony Finau 25-1
Daniel Berger 25-1
Harris English 30-1
Joaquin Niemann 35-1
Sung-Jae Im 35-1
Abraham Ancer 40-1
Adam Scott 40-1
Scottie Scheffler 40-1
Cameron Smith 40-1
Cameron Champ 45-1
Sergio Garcia 60-1
Kevin Kisner 60-1
Billy Horschel 66-1
Marc Leishman 66-1
Jason Kokrak 66-1
Carolos Ortiz 80-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Ryan Palmer 80-1
Kevin Na 90-1
Lanto Griffin 100-1
Mackenzie Hughes 100-1
Sabastian Munoz 100-1
Stewart Cink 125-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Robert Streb 200-1
Andrew Landry 200-1
Michael Thompson 200-1
Hudson Swafford 250-1
Richy Werenski 250-1
Brian Gay 250-1
Nick Taylor 250-1
