Local hero Sergio Garcia will begin the defence of his Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation title alongside fellow Spaniard Jorge Campillo and 23-time European Tour winner Lee Westwood.
The 2017 Masters Champion finished one stroke clear of nearest challenger Joost Luiten in last year's event to round off a special season which saw him claim his first Major Championship title at Augusta National.
And the victory was event sweeter for Garcia, who became Europe's all-time leading points scorer in the Ryder Cup as Europe won back the trophy at Le Golf National last month, as it came in an event supported by his own charitable foundation.
Garcia, Campillo and Westwood will get their opening rounds under way from Real Club Valderrama's tenth tee at 9.05am local time on Thursday.
Italian Matteo Manassero has four European Tour titles to his name but he heads into this week's tournament with his sights set on keeping his card as he sits 118th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.
He will tee it up at 8.55am from the tenth tee alongside Callum Shinkwin and Richie Ramsay who sit 123rd and 124th on the list respectively.
Dutchman Luiten begins his opening round at 9.15am from the tenth tee alongside Shane Lowry and Pablo Larrazábal.
Victorious Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, meanwhile, will be in the company of home favourite José María Olazábal and Robert Karlsson when he starts his first round at 1.45pm.
