The Olympic men's golf competition is set to start Thursday in Japan (Wednesday in North America), the second straight Olympics to feature golf following a 112-year absence from the Summer Games.

After a successful run at Rio 2016, which saw Justin Rose win gold for England, Kasumigaseki Country Club will host the world's best.

The course opened way back in 1929, and plays to a par-71, stretching out to nearly 7,500 yards.

Sixty players from 35 nations are expected to tee it up.

The favourite to win it all is American Collin Morikawa, who won the Open Championship two weeks ago for his second major triumph.

Two key golfers who aren't playing and had to bow out due to positive COVID-19 tests are Spaniard Jon Rahm, who was set to be the favourite, and American Bryson DeChambeau.

The qualification process allows each nation to send up to four golfers, provided they're in the top-15 of the world rankings.

The only country to meet those standards is the United States, which is sending Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed, who is replacing DeChambeau.

The format is the exact same as it is week-in and week-out on the PGA Tour, with 72-hole stroke play being implemented.

Japanese national hero Hideki Matsuyama has short odds to be the best over the course of four days after previously winning the Masters in April.

There are two Canadians competing, with 35th-ranked Corey Conners and No. 53 Mackenzie Hughes representing the maple leaf team.

They're not among the favourites to win the gold medal, but aren't considered extreme long shots either.

Conners, fresh off his T-15 at the Open Championship, is +2500 to earn top spot on the podium.

Hughes, who has contended to win the U.S. Open (54-hole co-leader), and Open Championship (T-6 result), is +6600 to earn the gold.

Here's our first look at the field for the Olympic men's golf competition.
 

Betting Odds To Win Olympic Gold – Top 15
 

Collin Morikawa            (USA)          +700

Xander Schauffele       (USA)           +900

Justin Thomas              (USA)          +1000

Hideki Matsuyama        (JAP)           +1200

Rory McIlroy                 (NIR)           +1200

Viktor Hovland              (NOR)         +1200

Patrick Reed                 (USA)          +1600

Paul Casey                   (ENG)          +1600

Cameron Smith            (AUS)           +2000

Abraham Ancer            (MEX)           +2000

Joaquin Niemann         (CHL)            +2000

Corey Conners             (CAN)            +2500

Shane Lowry                 (IRL)             +2500

Sungjae Im                    (KOR)           +2500

Tommy Fleetwood         (ENG)           +2800
 

Lowry performs best on biggest stages

Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion, tends to burn brightest when the course plays tougher and the stakes are higher.

He's been nothing short of consistent in his last 15 starts, where he's made all but one cut worldwide.

During that time frame, the affable Irishman has posted four top-10 finishes at big-time tournaments, including the PGA Championship, Players Championship, Memorial and RBC Heritage.

In his last start, he nearly did that again, falling just short with a T-12 in his Open Championship title defence.

He's not afraid of big moments, winning the Irish Open in his home country as an amateur in 2009 and won his first PGA Tour event at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2015.

The last 24 times competing, he's fourth in strokes gained: around the green, fifth approaching the green, eighth in total strokes gained and ninth tee-to-green.

At +2500 odds to win outright, you're getting him at longer odds than the top 11 players on the board, providing solid value.
 

Fore Your Information
 

Trending Up

Jhonattan Vegas  +5000

Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas has been on the cusp of winning for the fourth time on the PGA Tour in recent months.

He's made eight straight cuts, posting four top-15 finishes.

Vegas has had two very close calls at victory, finishing T-2nd at last weekend's 3M Open, and also was a runner-up at the Palmetto Championship.

He's had another second-place effort at the Puerto Rico Open this year.

The big man is no stranger to Canadian golf fans, as he won back-to-back RBC Canadian Open titles in 2016 and 2017.

In his last 24 rounds, Vegas is second in strokes gained: ball striking and seventh in total strokes gained.

Though he's done most of his damage in lower-tier PGA Tour events, he's been on a roll and at +5000 odds to win outright, he's definitely worth a look.
 

Diamond in the Rough

Mackenzie Hughes  +6600

Mackenzie Hughes is a very difficult golfer to predict.

He may find himself in contention at the last two majors, which he did at the U.S. Open and Open Championship – or he may miss five straight cuts, which he did before his recent run of strong play.

At the U.S Open at Torrey Pines, he was tied for the lead heading into the final round before a brutal break on Sunday saw his ball carom off the cart path and get stuck in a tree.

The resulting double bogey ended his chances for his first major title.

Two starts later he was T-14 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, then he was on the periphery of contention at the next major.

He ended up in a tie for sixth at the Open Championship, showing that when he's on, his game stacks up against the world's best.

Consistency has been lacking in his game, so you never know what you'll get.

Asking him to defeat the big guns might be too tall a task, but wagering on him to win silver or bronze isn't a ludicrous thought.

Since 2019, Hughes has posted a pair of runner-up results and two thirds.

His odds to win a medal are set at +1800.

With his recent form, he's shown he's on the verge of placing very highly on a leaderboard, and this could be the week that he does just that.