Early birds can catch the stars in action

ABU DHABI // Match 14 at 7.50 tomorrow morning is likely to attract the bulk of the early birds to Abu Dhabi National's 10th tee. That is where Padraig Harrington, winner of the last two majors, begins his quest to add a Desert Swing tournament to his list of honours. Alongside the British Open and US PGA champion for a back-nine start to the first round will be the defending champion Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson, the Swede who spends much of his time in Dubai, where he won the Desert Classic two years ago.

The most eye-catching of the afternoon groups goes off the first tee at 12.05 and features the top two players in the new Race to Dubai - Sergio Garcia, a recent winner in Shanghai, and Oliver Wilson in harness with the 2007 champion here, Paul Casey. Another player likely to attract a decent following, Trevor Immelman, the US Masters champion. He goes out just before Harrington with the emerging Indian prospect Jeev Milkha Singh and Denmark's Suren Kjeldsen for company.

Rory McIlroy, the Irish teenager, has been drawn with the former US Open champion Michael Campbell, of New Zealand and Australia's Aaron Baddeley. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, eight times winner of the Order of Merit, plays alongside the Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and England's Ross Fisher.