There could be few more appropriate venues for Tiger Woods to commence his 2020 campaign than Torrey Pines in California, a course he grew up playing on and which has been nothing short of his personal playground in his professional career.

Seven wins in previous Farmers Insurance Open tournaments in addition to his extraordinary 2008 US Open triumph at Torrey ensures Woods starts this year with perhaps greater expectation of his own chances to win than he has in recent injury-plagued seasons.

Speaking of injuries and our own Jason Day returns after an eight-week layoff with a back injury that cruelled his chances of playing in both the Australian Open and Presidents Cup.

A two-time winner, Day has been paired with defending champion Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth in one of the marquee groups while Sony Open champion Cameron Smith will spend the first two rounds in the company of Rory McIlroy and Brandt Snedeker.

Only one Aussie has ever won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in its 30-year history, Richard Green defeating countryman Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam in a playoff in 1997.

Hong Kong Open champion Wade Ormsby leads a small Aussie contingent at the Karl Litten-designed Emirates Golf Club with Scott Hend hoping to build on his top-25 finish from last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Round 1 tee times AEDT
European Tour
Omega Dubai Desert Classic
Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE
2.10pm*              Scott Hend, Ahmed Marjan, David Lipsky
2.50pm Wade Ormsby, Paul Lawrie, Mikko Korhonen
3.10pm Ryan Fox, Steven Brown, Shubhankar Sharma
3.40pm*              Lucas Herbert, Søren Kjeldsen, George Coetzee
6.40pm*              Daniel Gaunt, Raphaël Jacquelin, Grant Forrest
6.50pm*              Jason Scrivener, David Drysdale, Zander Lombard

TV: Live on Fox Sports 503 from 3pm Thursday
Australian winners: Richard Green (1997)
Top Aussie prediction: Jason Scrivener (T6 in 2018, T7 in 2019)

Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California
Torrey Pines South
3am       Danny Lee, Fabián Gómez, Robert Streb
3.40am*              Matt Jones, Luke List, Sam Burns
3.50am*              Cameron Davis, Zack Sucher, Scott Harrington
4.10am Aaron Baddeley, Rory Sabbatini, Roger Sloan
4.10am*              Cameron Percy, JJ Spaun, Trey Mullinax
4.20am*              John Senden, Beau Hossler, Bronson Burgoon
4.30am Jason Day, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth

Torrey Pines North
3.20am*              Tim Wilkinson, Graham DeLaet, Jamie Lovemark
3.30am*              Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Brandt Snedeker
4.30am*              Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Jimmy Walker
4.50am*              Rhein Gibson, Robby Shelton, Ryan Brehm

TV: Live on Fox Sports from 7am Friday
Australian winners: Jason Day (2015, 2018)
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Smith (T9 in 2019, T20 in 2018)