Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will gauge their games at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship this week.

The star-studded field for the tournament beginning Thursday features 12 major winners and nearly 100 European Tour winners. It's a field more akin to a major than an early season event. The top players said the quality of competition will allow them to quickly assess their game after the brief offseason.

Many welcomed a resurgent Woods into the fold. He ended a two-year victory drought with a win at the Chevron World Challenge in December.