Race to Dubai Champion Lee Westwood will begin the season as defending champion in Abu Dhabi, and will be in the company of World Top 10 players Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas when the tournament gets under way on Thursday.
Westwood is hoping to become the first player since Tommy Fleetwood in 2018 to win consecutive titles in Abu Dhabi, while Thomas makes his debut in the event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The trio will be one of the first groups to tee off, starting on the 10th hole at 7.30am local time.
Matthew Fitzpatrick, who claimed the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in December, tees off in the group immediately after with Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton, who is the highest ranked Englishman in the field at World Number Nine. Behind them at 7.50am are Henrik Stenson, Bernd Wiesberger and Matt Wallace.
Round 1 feature groups 🍿#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 19, 2021
Completing the featured groupings are the afternoon pairing of Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, who tee off from the first tee at 12.05pm. Both Fleetwood and Lowry have won this event previously - with Lowry claiming the 2019 edition that marked the first time the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship had been elevated to a Rolex Series event.
Ahead of them, three-time Abu Dhabi winner Martin Kaymer will get his season under way alongside Danny Willett and Christiaan Bezuidenhout at 11.55am.
