Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler paired at Abu Dhabi

Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are in the same group in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

The three golfers are in the top six of the current World Golf Rankings, including Spieth at No. 1 and McIlroy at No. 3.

"In a season that he considered lost, he still came back and ended up winning the Race To Dubai and that proves what a player he is," Spieth said of his friendly competition with McIlroy, who entered last season as the No. 1 player in the world but missed several weeks with a torn ankle tendon. "I'm sure there are very few players who have been working harder than he is to make this season his best season yet - and that is scary. Hopefully I can prevent that to an extent."

Spieth opened his 2016 calendar year with a win in Hawaii.

Fans can view the action on Golf Channel and their tee time Wednesday night is 10:40 p.m. ET and 3:05 a.m. ET on Friday.