In-form South African Louis Oosthuizen will test himself around the Emirates Golf Club with Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace over the first two rounds at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Fleetwood tied for second in Abu Dhabi where Oosthuizen banked a top-five finish. It moved the South African to 14th in the latest world rankings – four behind Fleetwood – with many suggesting 2020 is shaping up to be a year to remember for the one-time Major champion.
Wallace, second here last time around, is a worthy addition to the group but is looking to kickstart his season after some indifferent form.
Reigning champion Bryson DeChambeau will begin his defence alongside last week’s winner Lee Westwood.
DeChambeau swept to his maiden victory on the European Tour at Emirates Golf Club 12 months ago, finishing on seven shots clear of Wallace.
The Californian will tee off at 8am, one group ahead of the Oosthuizen party, and will play alongside Westwood and 11-time European Tour winner Henrik Stenson.
At 8:30am, Shaun Norris goes off with Haotong Li and Kurt Kitayama.
Amateur Joshua Hill, the 15-year-old who made more headlines last week ahead of his European Tour debut by beating World No 1 Brooks Koepka in a nine-hole friendly, is in the second group on the course with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.
Fellow amateur Jayden Schaper starts at 1:10pm, fresh from his impressive tied-for-sixth finish at the South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg.
