Webb Simpson’s PGA Tour season has been a huge speed bump in an otherwise outstanding career, but he will try to put the pedal to the medal before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin when he headlines the 2021 Wyndham Championship field, which begins on Thursday, August 12. The North Carolina native has played impeccable golf at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, winning in 2011 and finishing in the top-three four straight times. He has dropped to 19th in the world after ranking a career-best fourth a year ago, and he sits at 48th in the FedEx Cup standings. But another stellar performance in his home state could give him the jolt he needs heading into next week’s playoff opener, the Northern Trust.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Simpson as the 12-1 favorite in its latest 2021 Wyndham Championship golf odds. Other notable names in the 2021 Wyndham Championship field include Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (14-1), Louis Oosthuizen (18-1) and 2013 Wyndham champion Patrick Reed (22-1). Before you lock in your 2021 Wyndham Championship picks or make any PGA Tour predictions, you have to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.
The media legend and esteemed golf insider Sal Johnson has a strong track record on picks, and he knows what it takes to win at Sedgefield.
Before the 2018 Wyndham Championship, he tabbed Brandt Snedeker as one of his best bets, and last year he listed Billy Horschel among his top contenders. Snedeker went 21-under to win by three strokes, while Horschel shot 20-under in 2020 and finished a shot behind surprise champion Jim Herman.
Johnson also has been on fire this season. Before the Olympics golf competition, he listed Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama among his top five golfers. Schauffele won the gold medal for Team USA, while the other three made the playoff for the bronze. 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 Wyndham Championship golf picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see Johnson’s expert PGA Tour picks at SportsLine.
Top 2021 Wyndham Championship golf predictions
Shockingly, the golf expert is fading Oosthuizen, who has been on top of his game for more than a year. Johnson wonders why the South African is even teeing it up this week with his playoff spot secure. Oosthuizen has four runner-up finishes this season, but he stumbled briefly in the final round last week. He has never won an event in the United States, so he could be motivated by that and a large purse, but he might lack the motivation to rally if he gets off to a low start. Johnson thinks there is a decent chance he could even miss the cut.
Johnson has been keeping a close eye on Matsuyama and his putting for the past few years. As his putting stroke goes, so goes the Japanese star, who nearly drilled a 26-foot putt to win in a playoff last week. He also came up short in a playoff for the bronze medal at the Olympics, but the 29-year-old is 31-under par over those two events, shooting no higher than 69. He ranks in the top-10 on tour in strokes gained both tee-to-green and approach, but he is 180th in strokes gained putting. The flat stick has been solid the past few weeks, and the results reflect that.
The golf expert also knows that Sedgefield is just the sort of course where players like Reed can excel. The 31-year-old struggles to keep up with the tour’s longer hitters, but his play around and on the green set him apart. His putter has balked a bit in recent weeks, but he is still eighth on tour in strokes gained putting, 21st in scoring average (70.004) and 28th in scrambling. His victory in Greensboro was the first of his career, and he tied for ninth at the Wyndham in 2020. He has finished in the top-10 six times this season and won the Farmers in late January.
How to make 2021 Wyndham Championship golf picks
This week in Greensboro, Johnson is backing a long shot who comes in at around 40-1 odds. This golfer has won on courses just like this before, and Sedgefield takes the advantage away from the PGA Tour’s bombers. This player has the shot-making ability to make a surprise charge this week. Anyone who backs this underdog could cash in huge. You can see this pick only at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2021 Wyndham Championship? Where do Simpson and Reed 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 Wyndham Championship, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win at Sedgefield Country Club, and find out.
2021 Wyndham Championship odds, field (via Caesars Sportsbook):
Webb Simpson 12-1
Hideki Matsuyama 14-1
Louis Oosthuizen 18-1
Patrick Reed 22-1
Brian Harman 28-1
Will Zalatoris 28-1
Jason Kokrak 28-1
Sungjae Im 30-1
Kevin Kisner 33-1
Tommy Fleetwood 33-1
Charl Schwartzel 33-1
Russell Henley 35-1
Matthew Wolff 40-1
Kevin Streelman 40-1
Seamus Power 40-1
Kevin Na 40-1
Si-Woo Kim 40-1
Gary Woodland 40-1
Bubba Watson 40-1
Adam Scott 40-1
Rickie Fowler 45-1
Justin Rose 45-1
Robert Macintyre 45-1
Brandt Snedeker 45-1
Sebastian Munoz 50-1
Branden Grace 50-1
Jhonattan Vegas 50-1
J.T. Poston 50-1
Erik Van Rooyen 50-1
Mito Pereira 50-1
Zach Johnson 55-1
Talor Gooch 55-1
Ryan Moore 60-1
Harold Varner 60-1
Patton Kizzire 66-1
Lucas Glover 66-1
Chez Reavie 66-1
Doug Ghim 66-1
Hank Lebioda 66-1
MacKenzie Hughes 70-1
Ryan Armour 80-1
Luke List 80-1
Doc Redman 80-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Chris Kirk 80-1
Lanto Griffin 80-1
Rory Sabbatini 80-1
Adam Schenk 80-1
C.T. Pan 80-1
Joel Dahmen 80-1
Keith Mitchell 100-1
Patrick Rodgers 100-1
Kramer Hickok 100-1
Kyle Stanley 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1
Matt Jones 100-1
Jim Herman 100-1
Mark Hubbard 100-1
Dylan Frittelli 100-1
Andrew Putnam 100-1
Bo Hoag 100-1
Roger Sloan 100-1
Scott Piercy 100-1
Francesco Molinari 100-1
Tom Lewis 100-1
Brandon Hagy 100-1
Henrik Norlander 125-1
Adam Long 125-1
Scott Stallings 125-1
Matt Kuchar 125-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 125-1
Michael Thompson 125-1
Sepp Straka 125-1
Brian Stuard 125-1
Aaron Wise 125-1
Sam Ryder 150-1
Byeong Hun An 150-1
Brice Garnett 150-1
Richy Werenski 150-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Joseph Bramlett 150-1
Jason Dufner 200-1
Camilo Villegas 200-1
Matthew NeSmith 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Wyndham Clark 200-1
Vincent Whaley 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Russell Knox 200-1
Beau Hossler 200-1
Anirban Lahiri 200-1
Satoshi Kodaira 200-1
Harry Higgs 250-1
Denny McCarthy 250-1
Nate Lashley 250-1
Will Gordon 250-1
Tom Hoge 250-1
Sean O’Hair 250-1
Chesson Hadley 250-1
Bo Van Pelt 250-1
Akshay Bhatia 250-1
Kevin Tway 250-1
Scott Brown 250-1
Chase Seiffert 300-1
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 300-1
Davis Thompson 300-1
Aaron Baddeley 300-1
Mark Anderson 300-1
Alex Smalley 300-1
Vaughn Taylor 300-1
Hudson Swafford 300-1
John Augenstein 300-1
Austin Cook 300-1
J.J. Spaun 300-1
Robby Shelton 300-1
Padraig Harrington 300-1
Tyler Duncan 300-1
Nick Watney 300-1
Cameron Percy 300-1