First-time winners have been the norm at this week's PGA Tour event, and the wide-open field could provide another in the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship, which tees off Thursday in Jackson, Miss. Six of the past eight winners of the Sanderson Farms Championship lifted a PGA Tour trophy for the first time. There are eight past Sanderson Farms winners in the field. 

Caesars Sportsbook lists Zalatoris and Sam Burns as the 16-1 co-favorites in its latest 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship golf odds. Other likely contenders from the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship field include Sungjae Im (18-1) and Sergio Garcia (20-1) and Corey Conners (22-1).

Before you lock in any bets on the Sanderson Farms Championship or make any PGA Tour predictions, you have to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.

The media legend has broken down the field and has revealed his top Sanderson Farms Championship picks below. With his track record on picks, you'll really want to see who he is backing, because he knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour.

The media legend and esteemed golf insider comes off a stellar season where he showed his uncanny knack for gauging momentum and how players fit the courses.

Before the U.S. Open, he pegged Jon Rahm among his best bets to win and touted Louis Oosthuizen at 45-1 as his top long-shot candidate. Rahm and Oosthuizen battled to the finish, with Rahm shooting 4 under in the final round to win his first major title by one stroke.

And before the Tokyo Olympics, he had 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.

He also was one of the few experts to say 55-1 long shot 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 Sanderson Farms Championship picks, and they will surprise you. (For golf updates and news, click here)  

Shockingly, the golf expert is fading defending champion Sergio Garcia. The former Masters winner has been playing at a high level recently, but he could be in line for a letdown after the Ryder Cup. The Spaniard won his three team matches at Whistling Straits but lost his singles matchup with Bryson DeChambeau 3 and 2. The emotion of Ryder Cup week can drain the best of players, and Johnson doesn't see Garcia defending his title in Jackson. The golf expert has several better options who are likely to be overlooked.   

Instead, the golf expert is backing a MASSIVE long shot who comes in at close to 100-1! This grinder hits a lot of greens, putts well and makes a lot of birdies. Those are all critical traits for a course with small, tricky greens, and this is an event where the scores always go low. This veteran could easily pull off a shocking victory in Mississippi! Anyone who backs this underdog could cash in HUGE!

Who wins the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson? Where do Will Zalatoris and Corey Conners finish? And which MONSTER long shot is a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine now to see Sal Johnson's top predictions and analysis for 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship golf, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour!