Rory McIlroy will begin his defence of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic title alongsideHenrik Stensonand Louis Oosthuizenin the pick of the morning groups at Emirates Golf Club.
The trio will tee off from the tenth hole at 08.05 on Thursday, with McIlroy looking to add to the titles he won here in 2009 – his first as a professional – and 2015.
Another player with multiple Omega Dubai Desert Classic victories to his name is
Ernie Els
, who starts the quest for his fourth win at 12.15 from the first, with Thailand’s
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
and Austrian
Bernd Wiesberger
for company.
Ten minutes after them is another former champion in
Thomas Bjørn
(2001), who has been drawn with Englishmen
Danny Willett
and
Chris Wood
for the first two rounds, while in the next group Welshman
Jamie Donaldson
will make his first appearance of the season alongside British Masters champion
Matthew Fitzpatrick
and
Byeong Hun An
, last season’s Rookie of the Year.
Two-time Major winner
Martin Kaymer
, who was second here in 2008, is off at 07.55 from the tenth with fellow US Open champion
Graeme McDowell
and four-time European Tour champion
Søren Kjeldsen
, and ten minutes later Andy Sullivan will tee it up with
Thongchai Jaidee
and
Miguel Angel Jiménez
.
European Ryder Cup captain
Darren Clarke
will have another chance to run the rule over a number of hopefuls for Hazeltine, not least his playing partners for the first two rounds,
Thorbjørn Olesen
and
Thomas Pieters
. That group will tee off at 08.25 from the tenth.
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