RBC Heritage predictions, odds 2021: Dustin Johnson, Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay picks from PGA insider

A strong PGA Tour field headlined by top-ranked Dustin Johnson and defending champion Webb Simpson tees off Thursday at the 2021 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, Island, S.C. Simpson’s victory last June broke a streak of four first-time PGA Tour winners at Harbour Town, but the 2021 RBC Heritage field is stronger than a typical post-major event. It also includes Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris, who needs a victory to guarantee permanent PGA Tour status, as well as Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa.

William Hill Sportsbook lists Johnson as the 10-1 favorite in its latest 2021 RBC Heritage odds. Simpson is the 12-1 second favorite, followed by Cantlay (16-1) and Morikawa (20-1), while Zalatoris is at 25-1. Before locking in any 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 Cantlay has been tearing up the tour, even if he doesn’t have a recent win to show for it. He won the Zozo Championship in October, and he has finished in the top 20 in seven of the eight events since, with a runner-up and a third. He had a disastrous opening-round 79 at Augusta, and his 1-over 73 on Friday wasn’t enough to make the cut, but he is sixth on tour in strokes gained total. He also is third in scrambling and hits nearly 70 percent of his greens (ranking 28th), and those are critical skills for conquering Harbour Town.

Johnson has been keeping a very close eye on Zalatoris, and he wasn’t too surprised by his Masters showing. The 24-year-old has been battling since failing to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018, and now he is on the brink of full tour privileges. He is 27th in the World Golf Ranking but essentially needs a victory to guarantee his future because of changes forced by the pandemic. He has six top-10 finishes in 14 events this season and is 10th in scoring average (69.929) and ranks in the top five in strokes gained approach and tee-to-green.   

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 10-1Webb Simpson 12-1Patrick Cantlay 16-1Collin Morikawa 20-1Daniel Berger 22-1Cameron Smith 25-1Will Zalatoris 25-1Tyrrell Hatton 25-1Paul Casey 28-1Corey Conners 28-1Sungjae Im 30-1Sergio Garcia 30-1Abraham Ancer 30-1Matthew Fitzpatrick 30-1Tommy Fleetwood 30-1Brian Harman 33-1Si-Woo Kim 40-1Kevin Na 40-1Lee Westwood 40-1Shane Lowry 40-1Matt Kuchar 50-1Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1Harris English 50-1Billy Horschel 50-1Robert MacIntyre 50-1Charley Hoffman 50-1Kevin Kisner 66-1Russell Henley 66-1Matt Wallace 66-1Branden Grace 66-1Chris Kirk 66-1Ian Poulter 66-1Cameron Davis 75-1Emiliano Grillo 75-1Dylan Frittelli 80-1Sebastian Munoz 80-1Carlos Ortiz 80-1Sam Burns 80-1J.T. Poston 90-1Kevin Streelman 90-1Alex Noren 100-1Adam Hadwin 100-1Brendon Todd 100-1Lucas Glover 100-1C.T. Pan 100-1Zach Johnson 100-1Harold Varner 125-1Michael Thompson 125-1Charles Howell 125-1Stewart Cink 125-1Andrew Putnam 125-1Doug Ghim 125-1Aaron Wise 125-1Adam Long 150-1Sepp Straka 150-1Matthew NeSmith 150-1Harry Higgs 150-1Luke List 150-1Richy Werenski 150-1Ryan Moore 150-1Patton Kizzire 150-1Russell Knox 150-1Danny Willett 150-1Byeong Hun An 150-1Denny McCarthy 150-1Chase Seiffert 150-1Brandt Snedeker 150-1Mackenzie Hughes 150-1Doc Redman 150-1Tyler McCumber 150-1Jim Furyk 150-1Wyndham Clark 150-1Rory Sabbatini 150-1Brandon Hagy 175-1Graeme McDowell 175-1Nick Taylor 200-1Patrick Rodgers 200-1Hudson Swafford 200-1Tom Hoge 200-1Chez Reavie 200-1Ben Martin 200-1Maverick McNealy 200-1Brice Garnett 200-1Kyoung-Hoon Lee 200-1Will Gordon 250-1Scott Piercy 250-1Kyle Stanley 250-1Scott Stallings 250-1Camilo Villegas 250-1Henrik Norlander 250-1Chesson Hadley 250-1Tom Lewis 250-1Anirban Lahiri 300-1Mark Hubbard 300-1Satoshi Kodaira 300-1Adam Schenk 300-1Pat Perez 300-1Brian Gay 300-1Jason Dufner 300-1Scott Brown 300-1Robert Streb 300-1Bo Hoag 300-1Rafael Campos 300-1Robby Shelton 300-1Peter Malnati 300-1Andrew Landry 300-1Brian Stuard 300-1Vaughn Taylor 400-1Tyler Duncan 400-1Wesley Bryan 400-1Troy Merritt 400-1Danny Lee 400-1Bill Haas 400-1Davis Love 500-1Scott Harrington 500-1Ryan Armour 500-1Luke Donald 500-1Sung-Hoon Kang 500-1Austin Cook 500-1Ted Potter 500-1Xinjun Zhang 500-1Bryson Nimmer 500-1Jim Herman 500-1William McGirt 500-1John Augenstein 500-1Nick Watney 500-1Beau Hossler 500-1Michael Gligic 500-1Kevin Tway 500-1Michael Kim 750-1Bo Van Pelt 750-1K.J. Choi 750-1Hunter Mahan 1000-1Martin Trainer 1000-1