A stronger field will be playing in the picturesque setting this week when the PGA Tour’s 2021 World Wide Technology Championship tees off Thursday at El Camaleon Golf Club. Players such as defending champion Viktor Hovland, world No. 7 Justin Thomas and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka will be teeing off this week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Hovland went 20-under par last year to win by one stroke, the fourth straight Mayakoba tournament decided by one shot. The average winning score is 19-under par on the picturesque Greg Norman-designed course near Cancun. High wind plagued last week’s Bermuda Championship, but the forecast is for excellent weather this week on the western Caribbean Sea. 

Caesars Sportsbook lists Thomas as the 14-1 favorite in its latest 2021 World Wide Technology Championship golf odds, followed by Hovland at 18-1. Among the other players expected to contend from the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba field are Abraham Ancer (20-1) and Tony Finau (25-1), while Koepka is in a group at 33-1. Before you lock in any bets on the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship or make any PGA Tour predictions, you need to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.

The esteemed golf insider has been around the game for many years and knows what it takes to win. He is on a strong run this season, and before the Zozo Championship in Japan two weeks ago, Johnson tabbed Hideki Matsuyama in his best bets.

“You know he is looking to showcase his game in front of the home crowd,” the golf expert told SportsLine of the Japanese star. “This could be his personal U.S. Open.”

He was right on the money. Matsuyama shot a final-round 65 that included an eagle from 8 feet on the final hole. He trailed by one with eight holes to play on Sunday and won by five strokes.

Before the Shriners, Johnson tabbed both Sungjae Im and Matthew Wolff among his players to watch. Im shot a 9-under 62 in the final round for a comfortable four-shot win, and Wolff finished as runner-up, his first top-10 finish in almost exactly a year.

The previous week at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Johnson nailed Sam Burns as his winner. 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 World Wide Technology Championship golf picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see Johnson’s expert PGA Tour picks at SportsLine. 

Top 2021 World Wide Technology Championship golf predictions

Shockingly, the golf expert is fading four-time major champion Brooks Koepka. The 31-year-old opened his season with a T-67 at the Shriners, then shot 15-under but still tied for 38th at the CJ Cup. Last season was derailed by major knee surgery, and he has had a lot of nagging injuries in recent years. He finished in the top 10 eight times last season, but three were in majors and three were in his first seven tournaments. He needs to prove he’s healthy and focused on more than just winning major championships. Johnson will go a different route until he does that. 

On the other hand, Johnson is expecting a lot better play from Thomas this season. The 28-year-old former world No. 1 has faded back to seventh after an up-and-down season, but he went 18-under par at the CJ Cup to tie for 18th three weeks ago. He had seven top-10’s in 23 events last season but was outside the top-25 eight times. He seemed to settle in late in the season, with no finishes worse than T-26 as he went 59 under over his final five tournaments. He was third in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2020-21 and sixth in scoring average (69.773).  

The stats guru also knows Hovland is one of the hottest young stars on the PGA Tour and comes in off a strong showing at the CJ Cup. The 24-year-old shot three rounds in the 60’s and also went 18-under to tie Thomas. He has won two tour events already and has also won a title on the European Tour. The Norwegian finished fifth in the FedEx Cup race last season and was ninth in scoring average (69.888). Hovland finished in the top 10 in seven of his 24 events and missed the cut once. He was ninth in par breakers and eighth in strokes gained tee-to-green.     

How to make 2021 World Wide Technology Championship golf picks

For this week’s event in Playa del Carmen, the golf expert is backing a stunning long shot to win who comes in at well over 80-1 odds. This veteran has proven he can hang with the best on this course and has won on the PGA Tour before. The tight, short course will take distance mostly out of play. This golfer can make up shots on the green, and he has a real chance to pull off a stunning victory this week. Anyone who backs this underdog could cash in huge. You can only see this World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba pick and the rest of Johnson’s PGA analysis at SportsLine.

Who wins the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba? Where do Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland finish? And which massive 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 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and find out.

2021 World Wide Technology Championship odds, field, top contenders:

Justin Thomas 14-1
Viktor Hovland 18-1
Abraham Ancer 22-1
Tony Finau 25-1
Billy Herschel 30-1
Brooks Koepka 30-1
Scottie Scheffler 30-1
Tyrrell Hatton 30-1
Aaron Wise 33-1
Shane Lowry 35-1
Patrick Reed 35-1
Cameron Tringale 35-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 35-1
Will Zalatoris 35-1
Talor Gooch 40-1
Matthew Wolff 40-1
Sergio Garcia 40-1
Rickie Fowler 45-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1
Alex Noren 50-1
Maverick McNealy 50-1
Joaquin Niemann 50-1
Justin Rose 50-1
Russell Henley 50-1
Mito Pereira 50-1
Seamus Power 55-1
Keegan Bradley 55-1
Gary Woodland 60-1
Charley Hoffman 66-1
Jhonattan Vegas 66-1
Harold Varner 66-1
Lucas Herbert 66-1
Patrick Rodgers 70-1
Kevin Streelman 70-1
Emiliano Grillo 80-1
Carlos Ortiz 80-1
Brian Harman 80-1
Russell Knox 80-1
Luke List 80-1
C.T. Pan 80-1
Ian Poulter 80-1
Matt Kuchar 80-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Taylor Pendrith 90-1
Brendan Steele 90-1
Joel Dahmen 90-1
Scott Stallings 90-1
Henrik Stenson 90-1
Matt Jones 100-1
Ryan Palmer 100-1
Danny Willett 100-1
Patton Kizzire 100-1
Guido Migliozzi 100-1
Henrik Norlander 100-1
Adam Schenk 100-1
Pat Perez 100-1
Chez Reavie 100-1
Adam Long 100-1
Chris Kirk 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1
Tom Hoge 125-1
Keith Mitchell 125-1
Garrick Higgo 125-1
Scott Piercy 125-1
Thomas Detry 125-1
Dylan Frittelli 125-1
Rory Sabbatini 125-1
Vincent Whaley 125-1
Stephan Jaeger 125-1
Danny Lee 125-1
Charles Howell 125-1
Hank Lebioda 150-1
Joseph Bramlett 150-1
Sam Ryder 150-1
Francesco Molinari 150-1
Graeme McDowell 150-1
Kyle Stanley 150-1
Troy Merritt 150-1
Peter Malnati 150-1
Ryan Moore 150-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Brice Garnett 150-1
Aaron Rai 150-1
Brian Stuard 150-1
Doug Ghim 150-1
Charl Schwartzel 175-1
Greyson Sigg 200-1
Kramer Hickok 200-1
Jimmy Walker 200-1
Davis Riley 200-1
J.T. Poston 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Adam Svensson 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Hudson Swafford 200-1
Andrew Putnam 200-1
Denny McCarthy 200-1
Nick Watney 200-1
Nate Lashley 200-1
Zach Johnson 200-1
Brandt Snedeker 200-1
Roger Sloan 200-1
Trey Mullinax 200-1