2021 Tour Championship odds, FedEx Cup Playoff predictions: Expert reveals Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm picks

The coveted title and $15 million are on the line this week as the top 30 PGA Tour players take on East Lake Golf Club at the 2021 Tour Championship, which tees off Thursday. The Atlanta course, where tour legend Bobby Jones honed his craft, has hosted the event since 2004 and fans will be back in the mix. Patrick Cantlay’s victory at the BMW Championship puts him in the driver’s seat in the starting-strokes-format event, as he will begin the tournament at 10-under par, two shots clear of No. 2 Tony Finau. BMW runner-up Bryson DeChambeau starts at 7-under, followed by Jon Rahm (-6) and Cameron Smith (-5). Reigning FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson will start at 3 under, while two-time winner Rory McIlroy will have to make up an eight-stroke deficit.

Cantlay and Rahm are the 4-1 co-favorites in the latest 2021 Tour Championship golf odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed closely by BMW runner-up DeChambeau (5-1) and Finau (7-1). Johnson and McIlroy are both listed at 25-1. Before locking in any Tour Championship 2021 bets or any PGA Tour predictions, you have to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.

The media legend and esteemed golf insider has a strong track record on picks, and he knows what it takes to win in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He has nailed the past three Tour Championships, calling for Xander Schauffele to make a run but fall short of Johnson last year and Rory McIlroy to surge to the 2019 title. He also pegged Tiger Woods as the winner in the 2018 tournament but said Justin Rose would hang on to win the season-long title.

“(McIlroy) is five shots back, but he has the firepower to make that up,” Johnson told SportsLine before the 2019 Tour Championship. “He could surprise a lot of folks.”

The Northern Irishman did just that, roaring past Brooks Koepka on the seventh hole in the final round and never looking back. He finished three shots clear of Schauffele to join Woods as the only multiple Cup winners.

The golf expert has been on fire all season. At last week’s BMW Championship, he was on board with the struggling DeChambeau. “His bomb-and-gouge approach could work for him at Caves Valley, since the rough isn’t all that bad,” the golf expert said. And the tour’s biggest hitter led most of the day Sunday before finishing as runner-up.

Johnson also was one of the few to say Kevin Kisner had a legitimate chance before he got his first stroke-play win in more than four years at the Wyndham Championship. 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 and Arnold Palmer, and founder of the world’s top golf stats database, has released his highly confident 2021 Tour Championship golf picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see Johnson’s expert golf picks and FedEx Cup Playoffs predictions at SportsLine.

Top 2021 Tour Championship golf predictions

Shockingly, the golf expert is fading DeChambeau, despite his strong play at last week’s BMW Championship. The tour’s biggest hitter looked like he might run away with it Sunday, but Cantlay clawed his way back and just wouldn’t give up. Still, it was a strong sign for a player who had been in a rough patch, and now DeChambeau has a real shot at the season-long title. Unfortunately, he has a poor record at East Lake, and his style of play is not a good fit for the shot-makers’ course. His runner-up finish was just his second top-10 in his past 10 events.

On the other hand, Johnson has backed Rahm most of the year and won’t stop now. The Spaniard has been on fire, with his T-9 at the BMW breaking a string of three straight top-three finishes. Two of those were majors, including his first title at the U.S. Open in June. Now he goes to an East Lake course where he has never finished lower than T-12 in four tries. He has shot in the 60s in 11 of the 16 rounds. The 26-year-old leads the tour in scoring average (69.388) and strokes gained tee-to-green, and he can easily make up a four-stroke deficit.

The golf expert also expects Dustin Johnson to put on a show in an attempt to defend his title. The 37-year-old has had an off year since winning the Masters in November, but he also has a solid history at East Lake. He shot 11-under 269 last year to win the title at 21 under overall, and he was third in 2018 at 7 under. He has six top-10’s in 11 events in Atlanta. He has finished in the top 10 in three of his past five events while missing the cut in the other two. But he ranks second on tour in scoring average (69.644) and shot 65-66 on the weekend at the BMW.     

How to make 2021 Tour Championship golf picks

This week in Atlanta, the golf expert is backing a long shot who comes in at around 25-1. This player’s game is an immaculate fit for the course. While he will need to be more aggressive because of his deficit, he has the talent to limit his mistakes. Anyone who backs this underdog could cash in huge. Head to SportsLine to see who it is. 

Who wins the Tour Championship 2021? Where do Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson finish? And which huge 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 Tour Championship, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win in playoffs, and find out.

2021 Tour Championship odds, field, top contenders (via Caesars)

Patrick Cantlay 4-1

Jon Rahm 4-1

Bryson DeChambeau 5-1

Tony Finau 15-2

Justin Thomas 16-1

Dustin Johnson 25-1

Cameron Smith 25-1

Jordan Spieth 25-1

Rory McIlroy 25-1

Abraham Ancer 28-1

Xander Schauffele 28-1

Harris English 33-1

Sam Burns 33-1

Collin Morikawa 35-1

Louis Oosthuizen 40-1

Sungjae Im 40-1

Viktor Hovland 40-1

Brooks Koepka 50-1

Scottie Scheffler 80-1

Jason Kokrak 80-1

Hideki Matsuyama 100-1

Kevin Na 125-1

Corey Conners 125-1

Daniel Berger 125-1

Patrick Reed 150-1

Sergio Garcia 150-1

Joaquin Niemann 150-1

Erik Van Rooyen 175-1

Billy Horschel 250-1

Stewart Cink 250-1