QUALIFIER Luke Joy will tomorrow rub shoulders with golf’s glitterati when he makes his first European Tour start at the Dubai Desert Classic.

The Broadstone professional is set to line up alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia at the $2.65million event at Emirates Golf Club.

A former Dorset county player, Joy earned his place in the field having finished second in the MENA Tour order of merit, a circuit which primarily covers venues in the Middle East.

Joy told the Daily Echo: “I’m absolutely buzzing to play. I haven’t even played in a Challenge Tour event so it’s a big step up but I can’t wait for the experience of testing myself against the best players in the world.

“My goal is to execute each shot to the best of my ability and we will see if the numbers come out well at the end of the week.

“Having played the practice round, there is a score to be had out there but at the same time the rough is savage and can quickly bite you if you stay away from the short stuff.”

The Dubai event will be Joy’s second competitive outing of the year after he missed out on Asian Tour qualification in Thailand earlier this month.

Joy had previously attempted to earn a European Tour card in November but fell short in Spain at the penultimate stage of qualifying.

Two months prior, Joy had enjoyed a whirlwind start to life on the MENA Tour when he earned a debut victory at the Dubai Creek Open, a triumph he secured at the second play-off hole.

He then recorded a second-placed finish at the Shaikh Maktoum Open but seven days later was back on top again, triumphing at the Abu Dhabi Open having overturned a three-shot final-round deficit.

Finishes of tied-23rd and tied-seventh at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic and Ghala Valley Open rubber-stamped Joy’s impressive order of merit finish.

Joy is off at 3.45am GMT tomorrow and will play alongside countryman Jason Palmer and Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg.