The red carpet has been laid out, the stars are here, and the glorious grandeur of Abu Dhabi will be the stage for the opening act of 2012's greatest blockbuster.

The opening weeks of the 2012 season have presented an intriguing combination of fresh but also established winners. Branden Grace, the 23 year old South African, has lit the European Tour alight following two consecutive wins in his home country, the latter at the expense of his two more illustrious compatriots in Retief Goosen and Ernie Els. While in the United States, Steve Stricker continued his impressive renaissance by winning the season opening Champions event at Kapalua. However, with all that said and done, and without implying any disrespect to the winners of these opening events, the eyes of the golf world will fall almost univerisally onto the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.

To use a movie metaphor, think of the previous events as being the pre-movie commercials and advertisements, entertaining enough, but nonetheless forgetful. While this Abu Dhbai Championship represents the explosive opening scene of this movie which you have so longed to see; It's the opening act of what promises to be a quite startling 2012.

The protagonists are all here, ready to begin an adventurous quest on what they hope will be a year that brings great success and glory. Some are looking for continued glory. For world number one Luke Donald, this is the year during which he'll attempt to further establish himself as the best ranked player on the planet. Not an enviable task, especially during such a competitive period in the game, when you consider that in the 26 year history of the rankings only Greg Norman and Tiger Woods can truly claim to have been established world number ones. For Lee Westwood, who will enter his 40th year during 2012, this is the season that has to deliver. He can certainly take inspiration from Darren Clarke's achievements in July, but for Lee, with an increasing pool of fearlessly talented youngsters, major championship success has to come sooner rather than later, or it'll pass him by completely in a similar fashion to Colin Montgomerie. Westwood began to show some of his best form again towards the end of 2011, and the subsequent bounce from that will surely fire him into 2012 during which he'll attempt to catch Luke Donald in the rankings, win a major championship, and lead Europe, as the inspirational on course talisman, to yet another Ryder Cup victory. That is a tremendous task which can only be suited for a man with broad shoulders. Few in the game have broader shoulders than Lee, but it remains to be seen whether he can carry the load of personal expectation into this season.

But attempting to overhaul both Englishmen in 2012 will be Rory McIlroy.  The US Open champion returened close to the form, that saw him lift his first major title in record breaking fashion at Congressional, towards the end of last year and he goes into this season in fine shape following an initial difficulty in dealing with the increased media scrutiny that a 22 year old major champion is faced with. Rory's relationship with women's tennis sensation Caroline Wozniacki has been well documented, as was his surprising split from mentor Chubby Chandler, not to mention his unwise reactionary comments regarding the Open Championship. But with his personal life settled down, and making the decision to play predominately on the PGA Tour in 2012, Rory has found himself a near perfect equilibrium from which to achieve even greater success this year.

Much media attention will focus on the season debut of Tiger Woods, and will inevitably scrutinise every swing, every shot and every round that Tiger completes this week in undiminished rigor. 2012 is quite possibly the biggest season that Woods will ever face in his incredible career. There are no excuses now for failure on the course. He has had a full off season to prepare and has been fully fit since August, a luxury that has not been afforded to him in many years. That in turn brings increased pressure, not least from himself, as there is no hiding place for Woods now. His vulnerabilities on the golf course, both physically and mentally, looked to have subsided in the fall of 2011 with strong performances at the Australian Masters, the Presidents Cup and of course the Chevron Challenge which delivered his first positive title since 2009. A win for Tiger this week will take him on the verge of returning inside the worlds top 10. A fact that would have sounded a near impossibility for the 14 time major champion who was sitting at a lowly 58th a mere two months ago. Whether he can actually do it is another question altogether, but there is pressure on Woods to perform well here, as there is every tournament he plays such is his reputation. But for him strong performances are required in order to re-establish the intimidating aura, which utterly decimated Duval, Els, Love and Mickleson a decade ago, before the seasons opening major at Augusta National, a mere three months away. That would represent a comeback that even Frank Sinatra would have been proud of.

Such is the standard of this incredible field, many names will go into the week somewhat under the radar. Defending champion Martin Kaymer, for one, will be looking to challenge Luke Donald for the top spot this year. Not an impossibility for the talented German who has already got that achievement in his résumé . You have another major champion from 2010 in the shape of Graeme McDowell looking for a repeat of that breakthrough season, as well as other members of Monty's victorious Celtic Manor side who will be looking for some much needed Ryder Cup points if they are to find themselves in that illustrious group of 12 yet again. Not least Sergio Garcia, once the poster boy of European golf, before then becoming the forgotten man. But Sergio is back. The flamboyance returned in 2011, the passion, the desire, the will to win and along with it the unrivaled confidence which many once thought would bring great success before now. But there is still time for Garcia. His time begins now in what is the second chapter of a career which promised so much, and has still got so much to give. Do not be surprised to see Garcia contend this week, and do not be surprised to see him come close to the superb form of 2008 during which he earned over $7Million in prize money worldwide. Sergio Garcia may only be part of the large supporting cast for this year, given the talented leads, but it has potential to become at last his breakthrough role, and the early sequences of that potentially award winning performance may very well be shot here, this week, in the desert of Abu Dhabi.

So, sit back, relax, pick up some popcorn (or whatever confectionary you are inclined towards) and prepare yourself to be astounded, surprised, amazed and enthralled because the motion picture that you have been looking forward to for what feels like an eternity has finally arrived. The plot is unclear, the outcome unknown, the inevitable Academy Award winners so far unnamed, but it will all be revealed before your very eyes during this pulsating blockbuster of a season.