Tiger Woods heads the field at the Dubai Desert Classic, but skysports.com picks six players who could challenge the World No.1.
Watch all four rounds of the Dubai Desert Classic on Sky Sports
World No 1 Tiger Woods makes his fifth visit this decade to the Dubai Desert Classic to boost what was already a sparkling European Tour field.
European Tour stats package
Fresh from his eight-stroke triumph in San Diego on Sunday, the 32-year-old American will attempt to capture the title for a second time. He also won it in 2006.
On paper, Tiger will be difficult to beat and many expect his toughest challenge at the Emirates Golf Club this week to come from Ernie Els.
The pair went head-to-head 12 months ago: And while Els took care of Woods - who had to settle for a share of third place - the South African was pipped at the post by Henrik Stenson.
The Swede powered home strongly 'on the rails' to edge out Els by a single shot - having started the day two strokes behind the 'Big Easy'.
The 20-year-old United Arab Emirates layout weaves among the sand dunes, with water coming into play on 10 holes.
So who are the players most likely to give Tiger Woods a run for his money this week:
Ernie Els: Has a remarkable record - even by his standards - at the Emirates where he has not finished lower than third on his last six appearances. In all, Els has won three times at the venue, the first occasion 14 years ago.
Sergio Garcia: The 28-year-old Spaniard fared well in his year-opening event last week at Qatar where he posted back-to-back 67s on Saturday and Sunday to finish in a tie for seventh.
Jyoti Randhawa: His last four appearances in this event have all yielded top-20 finishes. The Indian, who is long overdue a maiden European Tour victory, closed with a 66 at Doha which lifted him into the top-10.
Henrik Stenson: The defending champion is in tip-top shape. Runner-up in each of his last two starts - in Abu Dhabi and Qatar - the 31-year-old has posted top-10 finishes in each of his last nine starts in the Middle East.
Charl Schwartzel: Although the young South African has a surprisingly modest record at this venue, he is full of talent as his top-three finish in Qatar showed last week.
Lee Westwood: Likes nothing better than to rub shoulders with Tiger and Ernie which usually fires-up his competitive juices. Already this season Westwood has posted a brace of runner-up finishes and was fifth on Sunday in Qatar.
