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Els, who won the Moroccan Open and had a second-place finish at the Singapore Open in recent weeks, and Stenson, so impressive in winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge earlier in December, will be joined by SA's Rory Sabbatini, who is making his debut appearance in his home Open.
The three will be off at 07:10 on Thursday, and 12:10 on Friday.
Other showcase groupings for the first two days include Justin Rose, James Kingston and Tim Clark (07:20 and 12:20); Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke and Hennie Otto (07:30 and 12:30); Johan Edfors, Retief Goosen and Richard Finch (12:10 and 07:10) as well as Richard Sterne, Trevor Immelman and Lee Westwood (12:20 and 07:20).
On top of the world-class field, an added attraction this year is starter Ivor Robson, who has been the official starter of The Open Championship since 1975.
SA's Kingston will be defending the title he won by one shot from England's Oliver Wilson at the same venue last year. It was the 43-year-old's first European Tour title.
