By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
in Zandvoort
Home favourite Joost Luiten will launch his bid for a second KLM Open title alongside American legend Tom Watson and former winner Ross Fisher when play gets under way at Kennemer Golf & Country Club on Thursday morning.
Luiten, who is making his 11th appearane in his national Open having won here back in 2013, kicks off his championship at 0825 local time in the first round in the heady company of eight-time Major winner Watson, who is making his debut at the KLM Open this week, and the 2007 winner, England's Fisher.
Elsewhere, winner for the first time in four years last week in Russia, England's Lee Slattery returns to action in the Netherlands from 0805 on Thursday with another recent victor in the form of compatriot David Horsey, who triumphed in August's Made in Denmark, and two-time European Tour champions Thorbjorn Olesen.
In the group following the above threeball at 0815, Open de Espana winner James Morrison hits the revered Harry Colt-designed links with Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn and the man who won a trip to space with a hole-in-one last year, England's Andy Sullivan, while former Ryder Cup stars Peter Hanson, Stephen Gallacher and Robert Karlsson are grouped together for the first two rounds and will get going at 0835.
This week bidding to become the player with most consecutive cuts made of any active player on The European Tour, Max Kieffer has made the weekend in each of his last 20 starts on Tour and will overtake Steve Stricker should he do the business on Thursday and Friday at the KLM Open. The young German gets that particular attempt under way from 0935 with Dutchman Wil Besseling and England's Richard Finch.
Meanwhile, 39 years after his father won his maiden European Tour title at Kennemer in the 1976 edition of this event, Javier Ballesteros, son of the late, great Seve, plays this week on an invite and gets going from 0755.
Headlining the afternoon groups, 2010 winner Martin Kaymer returns to the KLM Open for the first time in three years and the World Number 21 will start out in the company of Ryder Cup team-mate Jamie Donaldson and Irish Open winner Soren Kjeldsen from 1325.
After missing out in a play-off for his second KLM Open title to Dutch hero Luiten two years ago, 1994 winner Miguel Angel Jimenez gets going from 1315 with former US PGA Champion YE Yang and three-time Major triumphant Padraig Harrington, while 2016 European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke will be keeping a close eye on up-and-comers Tommy Fleetwood and Czech Masters champion Thomas Pieters as the Points Race for a spot in the transatlantic clash hits its second week.
England's Jason Barnes will get things going from the first tee at precisely 0745 on Thursday morning.
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