A sizzling star-cast, spearheaded by Ernie Els, will be the feature in the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters Challenge Match at the Delhi Golf Club on Tuesday.

The world number four will be joined by five other high-profile players in the six-man field to mark the formal opening of the first European Tour ever to be played in India.

The pairings for the challenge match are: Ernie Els and Arjun Atwal; Mark O'Meara and Jeev Milkha Singh [Images] and Darren Clarke and David Howell.

The Challenge Match will provide the first opportunity for Indian fans to see the game's biggest stars up close and personal in the fun-filled 'greensomes' format on the back nine of the Delhi Golf Club course.

Els, who is playing for the first time in Indian, said, ''Well, I think what the European Tour has done has really helped the Asian Tour, to co-sanction events, to have the Asian players play against stronger fields, and I think the Asian players have really caught up really well.'

The Challenge Match will also be a good opportunity for European Tour players to get the feel of the course ahead of the main competition.