Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman outlasted Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a playoff that capped a tight and tense final round Sunday.

This week’s 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans is truly unique, in that it pairs up PGA Tour pros into two-man teams to compete in an 80-team tournament that features both best-ball and alternate-shot formats that are similar to Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup play. Last year’s Zurich Classic was cancelled due to the pandemic, meaning 2019 champs Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are still the defending champions and are back for the Zurich Classic 2021. The team of fifth-ranked Xander Schauffele and 10th-ranked Patrick Cantlay are listed at 8-1 in the latest 2021 Zurich Classic odds at William Hill Sportsbook.

Rahm and Palmer are the odds-on favorites at 15-2, while the Australian duo of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are at 12-1 on the PGA odds board when play begins Thursday at TPC Louisiana. Before locking in any 2021 Zurich Classic picks or entering any PGA DFS tournaments on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed last June. In fact, it’s up over $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

Two weeks ago at the Masters, McClure nailed Jon Rahm’s (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners’ (+550) top-10 showing. McClure’s best bets netted over $450 at Augusta.

In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger’s win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland’s (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he’s made in the past few months.

This same model has nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now that the 2021 Zurich Classic field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.

The model’s top 2021 Zurich Classic predictions

One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2021 Zurich Classic: the team of Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer, who are the defending champions having won this event in 2019, stumble and don’t repeat as winners. The Rahm/Palmer team was victorious by three strokes when this tournament was last held and it set an alternate shot course record with a 65 in the second round.

But that marks Palmer’s only PGA Tour win since 2010 and his game doesn’t necessarily complement Rahm’s. Despite both being ranked in the top 30, neither player ranks in the top 50 on tour in strokes gained via putting nor strokes gained around-the-green. Also, both players missed the cut in the 2018 tournament when they were on different teams, so they don’t have lengthy records of success at TPC Louisiana.

Another surprise: the team of Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, 25-1 long shots, makes a strong run at the 2021 Zurich Classic title. It is an SEC rivalry-turned-partnership, as Burns is an LSU alumnus and Horschel bleeds the orange and blue of his alma mater Florida.

At age 24, Burns is putting together a solid 2020-21 season so far, with three top-10 finishes. including a third at the Genesis Invitational. He has also made two straight FedEx Cup playoffs and held the 36-hole lead at the Genesis by five shots before a third-round 74 derailed his bid for a first PGA Tour win.

Ten years Burns’ senior and with six PGA Tour victories, Horschel is much more a proven commodity. Horschel won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this season and is currently 10th on the FedExCup points standings. Horschel also finished second to Collin Morikawa at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, was fifth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and seventh at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Unlike Burns, who has missed the cut in two previous Zurich Classic appearances, Horschel also has earned his TPC Louisiana bones — teaming with Scott Piercy to shoot 22-under par and win by a stroke over the team of Jason Dufner and Pat Perez. Horschel also won the 2013 Zurich Classic when it was a solo event, beating D.A. Points by a stroke.

How to make 2021 Zurich Classic picks

The model is targeting three other teams with odds of 20-1 or longer to make strong runs at the title. Anyone who backs these underdogs in their 2021 Zurich Classic bets could hit it big.

2021 Zurich Classic odds

J Rahm/R Palmer 15-2
X Schauffele/P Cantlay 8-1
C Smith/M Leishman 12-1
C Morikawa/M Wolff 14-1
B Watson/S Scheffler 14-1
T Finau/C Champ 16-1
C Kirk/B Todd 20-1
B Horschel/S Burns 25-1
D Willett/T Hatton 25-1
J Rose/H Stenson 30-1
M Homa/T Gooch 30-1
B Grace/H Varner 30-1
D Frittelli/K Streelman 33-1
K Bradley/B Steele 33-1
L Oosthuizen/C Schwartzel 33-1
V Hovland/K Ventura 35-1
S Im/B An 40-1
J Dahmen/L Griffin 45-1
L Glover/C Reavie 45-1
D Ghim/J Suh 50-1
S Brown/K Kisner 50-1
R Castro/C Tringale 50-1
T Pieters/T Lewis 50-1
C Hoffman/N Watney 50-1
W Clark/E Van Rooyen 55-1
G McDowell/M Wallace 55-1
A Noren/H Norlander 60-1
R Knox/B Stuard 66-1
M Thompson/W Gordon 66-1
J Kokrak/P Perez 66-1
J.J. Spaun/M Jones 70-1
M Laird/N Taylor 70-1
M McNealy/J Bramlett 80-1
R Werenski/P Uihlein 80-1
B Snedeker/K Mitchell 80-1
T Hoge/B Hossler 100-1
M NeSmith/C Seiffert 100-1
K-H Lee/K Stanley 100-1
D Hearn/S Power 100-1
D Redman/S Ryder 100-1
R Hojgaard/V Taylor 125-1
S Piercy/A Bhatia 125-1
T Duncan/A Schenk 125-1
C Hadley/B Martin 125-1
S Straka/J Teater 125-1
A Landry/A Cook 125-1
B Garnett/S Stallings 125-1
J.B. Holmes/R Garrigus 125-1
J Dufner/D Bozzelli 150-1
X Zhang/C.T. Pan 150-1
T Merritt/R Streb 150-1
R Sloan/A Baddeley 150-1
A Putnam/S Harrington 150-1
K Kraft/K Tway 150-1
J Vegas/A Romero 150-1
G Chalmers/C Percy 175-1
B Hagy/M Kim 175-1
C Beljan/M Every 175-1
R Blaum/J Byrd 200-1
B Hoag/W Roach 200-1
M Hubbard/S Cappelen 200-1
H Higgs/M Gellerman 200-1
P Malnati/C Baker 200-1
R Shelton/K Hickok 200-1
M Trainer/J Hahn 200-1
H Lebioda/B Burgoon 225-1
D Lee/S Bae 250-1
R Campos/M Anderson 250-1
K Stadler/J Wagner 250-1
R Oppenheim/G Murray 250-1
R Gibson/B Taylor 250-1
B Van Pelt/L List 250-1
M Gligic/V Whaley 250-1
K.J. Choi/S Kang 300-1
B Haas/H Mahan 300-1
K Aphibarnrat/A Atwal 300-1
N Ledesma/F Gomez 300-1
T Wilkinson/G McNeill 300-1
D.J. Trahan/R Barnes 300-1
W Austin/R Mediate 1000-1

There are 244 players listed in the current FedEx Cup points standings. The PGA Tour’s new $40 million bonus pool for high-profile players, dubbed the Player Impact Program, will impact only 10 of them.

One can only assume Hideki Matsuyama did not feel the heavy burden of history at all. There is no other reasonable explanation for the manner in which the 29-year-old won the 85th edition of the Masters. Matsuyama has become the first Asian-born player to don a Green Jacket and the only Japanese male to win a major.

His is a victory that will reverberate far beyond this exclusive corner of Georgia. Positive impacts for golf as a whole, it can only be hoped, will follow. A nation that has long since developed an affinity with this sport belatedly has its idol. The Green Jackets, who regard themselves as progressives these days, will be giddy with excitement at the expansion of their roll of honour into fresh territory. A global game needs global stars, after all.

Matsuyama’s 10 under par saw him win the first major of 2021 by one from Will Zalatoris. Jordan Spieth closed in a share of third with Xander Schauffele at minus seven.

It was just a pity that a vast Japanese media contingent, who ordinarily would track Matsuyama’s every move, were not on site. Covid has denied them eye-witness accounts of the moments they have pursued for so long and would have treasured. A cruel sporting fate.

Brief worry for the champion arrived with a bogey at the 1st. As Zalatoris collected a shot up ahead at the 2nd – the debutant had also birdied the opening hole – Matsuyama’s lead was just a shot.

The response set the tone for the rest of Matsuyama’s day. He comfortably birdied the par five 2nd and did likewise on the final two holes of the front nine. Matsuyama marched down the 10th with a five-shot lead. Not even the perils associated with Amen Corner could deny him from here, surely.

Matsuyama did make a bogey after playing his tee shot at the 12th into a bunker. The damage was immediately repaired with a birdie at the 13th. All the while, no one from the chasing pack was making sufficient inroads for the champion-elect to fret. The key period of this Masters actually arrived after a 75-minute weather delay on Saturday, with Matsuyama emerging to play his back nine in six under par. This afforded a level of leeway and comfort the world No 25 could lean on during the final day. Whisper it, but large chunks of the denouement were anti-climactic.

The finding of water at the 15th drew a groan but little more, given Matsuyama was four ahead of Schauffele, his playing partner. Schauffele almost holed out from the greenside bunker for an eagle but Matsuyama was able to ensure 12 under played 10 under.

Schauffele was now the key threat; he had now birdied four in a row. Disaster followed for the world No 6, who found water from the tee at the par three 16th and fired his third shot over the green. Matsuyama could exhale. A bogey for the Japanese was fine in context of Schauffele’s six.

Zalatoris is due immense credit for his display. Not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has a player won the Masters first time out.

Zalatoris didn’t manage that but the strength he displayed to stay so prominent points towards brighter days. A Sunday 70 confirmed the best finish of his professional career and rendered him the first Masters rookie to be runner-up since 1982. Zalatoris was born only in 1996.

Spieth will contemplate what might have been. His bogey at the 1st denied the opportunity for the momentum desperately needed. Still, and typically, the resurgent Texan fought on; from a tournament aggregate of three under after eight he finished four shots better. Another major title, you feel, is not far away.

Justin Rose, who appeared to be battling technical issues all weekend, slipped to a closing 74 for seventh place. Patrick Reed and Corey Conners closed one shy of Rose’s total. Robert MacIntyre’s 72 and level par aggregate was enough to secure him top 12 finish and, therefore, an invite back to Augusta in 2022. Fine work for the Scottish debutant.

Jon Rahm’s 66 earned him tied fifth with Marc Leishman. “Each day I played better golf,” Rahm said. “First three days I just couldn’t get anything going. Today was the complete opposite. Started the way I started and that set the tone for the rest of the round.

“I’m happy. It’s still a top five at a major with a great round on a Sunday. I think that’s 15 straight rounds of even par or better here. Clearly I like the place, I play good here. My year is coming up. Let’s hope it’s soon.”

Rahm had left the premises long before Matsuyama took on the kind of scenario golfers dream of. On the 72nd hole of the tournament he first played in as an amateur a decade ago, all Matsuyama had to do was place one foot in front of the other. A bogey mattered not.

“He’s just a great player,” said Charl Schwartzel, who won that 2011 Masters. “He has shown us all over the last 10 years that, when he gets going, he’s a guy that feeds off confidence. He sets high expectations. But as you saw yesterday after the rain delay, that’s how Hideki plays when he’s got confidence, straight at every flag, and he seems to pull them off too.” In the time honoured words of Alphaville; big in Japan, all right.

2021 Masters odds: Surprising PGA picks, predictions from advanced model that nailed six golf majors

Jordan Spieth said he was grateful to see the back of some “tough days” after claiming his first victory in nearly four years at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday.

Spieth shot a final-round 66 to finish two shots ahead of Charley Hoffman and put an end to a drought that had lasted 1,351 days and 83 tournament starts.

The former world No. 1’s previous victory was at the 2017 Open Championship when he secured his third major title.

His return to the winner’s circle is well timed as the Masters tees off on Thursday, with Spieth bidding to win his second title at Augusta.

“I feel grateful. It kind of bounces off and on right now when it hits me that I’m back in the winner’s circle,”

Spieth, who finished the week on 18-under, told reporters of his victory in Texas.

“It’s been a road that’s had a lot of tough days. I’ve had people in my corner that have always believed in me even when I’ve kind of believed less in myself.”

Spieth has ended a run of nearly four years without a victory.

Spieth shared the lead with England’s Matt Wallace going into the fourth round, but it was fellow American Hoffman who came closest to challenging the 27-year-old by hitting three birdies between the 13th and 16th holes.
That moved Hoffman to within one shot of the lead, but Spieth’s birdie on the 17th and par on the 18th proved enough to wrap up the victory.

With the 12th title of his career, he joined Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas as the only players from the past 40 years to win at least 12 times before turning 28.

It was also Spieth’s first victory since marrying his wife, Annie Verret, who he embraced on the 18th green after sealing the win.

“I just feel a lot of gratitude to those who have helped me kind of get back here,” he said.

“My wife has been just a rock to me … It’s been progressing this way since maybe December, but before that there had been a lot of tough times. When you’re struggling at work, you try not to bring it home and that kind of stuff.”

Spieth will now be among the favorites to win the Green Jacket in Augusta, along with defending champion Dustin Johnson, 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 3 Jon Rahm, who is celebrating becoming a father for the first time after the birth of his son over the weekend.

SportsLine simulated the 2021 Valero Texas Open 10,000 times and came up with a surprising leaderboard

PGA Tour players looking to tune up for the Masters, as well as those looking for that last-second Augusta National invite, descend on San Antonio this week for the 2021 Valero Texas Open. Play begins Thursday at the 7,494-yard, par-72 AT&T Oaks course at TPC San Antonio. Defending champion Corey Conners is in the field at the Valero Texas Open 2021, but will have to contend with 2021 Valero Texas Open contenders like Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama. Dustin Johnson withdrew from the field on Monday.

The latest 2021 Valero Texas Open odds from William Hill Sportsbook list Spieth as the favorite at 12-1, while Finau and Scottie Scheffler are both 16-1 on the PGA odds board. Conners, who has posted top-10 finishes in two of his last three starts, is a 22-1 choice to repeat. Before making any 2021 Valero Texas Open picks or entering any PGA DFS tournaments on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

SportsLine’s prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour last June. In fact, it’s up almost $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

At the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, McClure nailed Daniel Berger’s win at +1400 in his best bets. McClure was also all over Viktor Hovland’s (+2500) victory in his best bets at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he’s made in the past few months.

After nailing Sergio Garcia (+5500) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McClure finished up over $6,200 yet again on his best bets in that tournament. The model had him in the top five from the start and McClure’s best bets included Garcia winning outright.

He also finished profitable at the U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff. In all, the advanced computer model has nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.

Now that the 2021 Valero Texas Open field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.

The model’s top 2021 Valero Texas Open predictions

One huge shocker the model is calling for at the Valero Texas Open 2021: Jordan Spieth, an 11-time PGA Tour champion and the Vegas favorites, stumbles and barely cracks the top 10. The 27-year-old has seen a major resurgence in recent weeks, finishing inside the top-15 in four of his last five starts. He’s finished inside the top-five in three of those events, but he’s been unable to capture his 12th PGA Tour title.

Spieth’s inability to finish on top of the leaderboard can be directly attributed to his driving accuracy percentage. In fact, Spieth enters this week’s event ranked 204th on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy percentage (50.00), which doesn’t bode well for his chances to finish on top of the leaderboard this week. Plus, Spieth has not won a PGA Tour event since 2017. He’s not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the Valero Texas Open 2021 field.

Another surprise: Abraham Ancer, a huge 22-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. Ancer has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.

Although Ancer has yet to break through for victory so far in his career, he has just missed several times — highlighted by seconds at the 2019 Northern Trust and both the RBC Heritage and American Express in 2020. Ancer was also in contention at his rookie journey to Augusta National last year until a final-round 76 dropped him to 13th.

Although Ancer is pedestrian in driving distance, he is second on the PGA Tour in hitting fairways (72.56 percent) and 14th in hitting greens in regulation (71.21 percent). If Ancer can put it all together on TPC San Antonio’s green complexes, he should be in contention this weekend, making him one of the top value picks that you should be all over in your 2021 Valero Texas Open bets.
How to make 2021 Valero Texas Open picks

Also, the model is targeting four other golfers with odds of 22-1 or higher to make a strong run at the title, including a monster long shot north of 40-1. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big.

So who wins the Valero Texas Open 2021? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 Valero Texas Open leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed six golf majors and is up almost $10,000 since the restart, and find out.

2021 Valero Texas Open odds (via William Hill)

Jordan Spieth 12-1
Scottie Scheffler 16-1
Tony Finau 16-1
Hideki Matsuyama 18-1
Corey Conners 22-1
Abraham Ancer 22-1
Ryan Palmer 28-1
Charley Hoffman 33-1
Brendan Steele 33-1
Chris Kirk 35-1
Cameron Davis 35-1
Cameron Tringale 35-1
Si-Woo Kim 35-1
Sam Burns 40-1
Zach Johnson 45-1
Lanto Griffin 45-1
Keegan Bradley 50-1
Matt Kuchar 50-1
Branden Grace 50-1
Ryan Moore 60-1
Joey Dahmen 60-1
Andrew Putnam 60-1
John Huh 60-1
Harold Varner 60-1
Harry Higgs 60-1
Rickie Fowler 60-1
Aaron Wise 66-1
Matt Wallace 66-1
Charles Howell 66-1
Adam Hadwin 66-1
Byeong Hun An 66-1
Sabastian Munoz 66-1
Sam Ryder 66-1
Denny McCarthy 70-1
Gary Woodland 70-1
Phil Mickelson 70-1
Erik Van Rooyen 70-1
Danny Willett 70-1
Sepp Straka 70-1

Billy Horschel had just enough left in the tank to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday with help from Scottie Scheffler

Hamza Amin took the lead on the first day of 10th Rashid D Habib Golf at Karachi Golf Club on Thursday.