Golf Rio Olympics 2016: Odds, Schedule, Longshots For Sport's Return To Games

Golf is back in the Olympics, and it only took some 112 years. It was a bumpy and tumultuous road back to the games — complete with top players dropping out of the field, concerns over the Zika virus and complaints about the tournament format — but the official return finally arrives when the players tee of Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Among the names not in the field of players in Rio: superstars Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day. But a strong field remains and anticipation has begun to build for the new tournament. The glow of the Olympics, in other words, is beginning to wash over some of the problems leading up to the games.

"I want to live the experience, I want to hang out there, meet the other athletes and enjoy my time as an Olympian," Watson said Tuesday, according to the Golf Channel. "We’ve got golf to play, we’re trying to win a medal. But at the same time we want to be a true Olympian and be a fan of other sports and cheer on other athletes and be part of it. I’m trying to take it all in, do everything and see the sights."

Watson is among the favorites to win the tournament. The players are scheduled to tee of starting at 6:30 a.m. EDT for the first round Thursday. From there, times will adjust after some of the lower performing players are cut from the field ahead of the final two rounds over the weekend, since Rio's tournament will essentially function like most PGA Tour events.

Here are the odds for the notables in the field (also, keep in mind no country could have more than four players qualify, so there are some real long-shots), according to Bovada.lv as of Wednesday afternoon:

Henrik Stenson, 5-1, SWE

Sergio Garcia, 7-1, ESP

Justin Rose, 10-1, GBR

Rickie Fowler, 14-1, USA

Patrick Reed, 14-1, USA

Bubba Watson, 14-1, USA

Martin Kaymer, 16-1, GER

Matt Kuchar, 16-1, USA

Daniel Willett, 22-1, GBR

Emiliano Grillo, 25-1, ARG

Padraig Harrington, 40-1, IRL

Thongchai Jaidee, 40-1, THA

Jhonattan Vegas, 40-1, VEN

Soren Kjeldsen, 50-1, DEN

Graham Delaet, 66-1, CAN

Anirban Lahiri, 66-1, IND

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, 66-1, THA

Nicolas Colsaerts, 66-1, BEL

Gregory Bourdy, 80-1, FRA

Matteo Manassero, 80-1, ITA

Thorbjorn Olesen, 100-1, DEN

Just for fun, here are the two players with the longest odds to win the gold medal if you want to believe in miracles (it is the Olympics, after all).

Danny Chia, 300-1, MAS

Rodolfo Cazaubon, 300-1, MEX