Ryder Cup teammates square up
Ryder Cup teammates David Howell and Colin Montgomerie will meet in the first round of the HSBC World Match Play championship at Wentworth on Thursday, it was confirmed today.
World number one Tiger Woods, runner-up to Mark O’Meara on his one previous appearance in 1999, opens his bid for a sixth successive tournament win against fellow American Shaun Micheel.
Five of the European cup side are in the 16-man field competing for golf’s biggest first prize of £1m (€1.5m).
Swede Robert Karlsson goes in against Jim Furyk, whose victory on Sunday in the Canadian Open has lifted him to second in the world for the first time in his career.
Paul Casey takes on Retief Goosen and Luke Donald meets another South African in Tim Clark – with the winner of that clash likely to meet Woods in the quarter-finals.
Six-time winner Ernie Els, who was unable to go for a fourth straight title last year because of a knee injury, begins against Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, while defending champion Michael Campbell’s first opponent is Essex’s Simon Khan, the tournament outsider.
Khan qualified thanks to his second place finish behind Howell at the BMW Championship on the same course in May and then a fourth place at the European Open in July.
It was thought he might have to face Woods, but the number one seed position goes to the holder in keeping with tradition.
The other first-round duel is between Australian Adam Scott – up to a personal-best fifth in the world after beating Els in a play-off for the Singapore Open this weekend – and Canadian Mike Weir.
Montgomerie and Howell have five victories at the venue between them. Montgomerie won the Match Play in 1999 and captured the Volvo PGA championship there three straight years from 1998.
Draw for opening round on Thursday (seeded positions in brackets):
(1) Michael Campbell (Nzl) v (16) Simon Khan (Eng)
(8) David Howell (Eng) v (9) Colin Montgomerie (Sco)
(5) Retief Goosen (Rsa) v (12) Paul Casey (Eng)
(4) Adam Scott (Aus) v (13) Mike Weir (Can)
(3) Jim Furyk (USA) v (14) Robert Karlsson (Swe)
(6) Ernie Els (Rsa) v (11) Angel Cabrera (Arg)
(7) Luke Donald (Eng) v (10) Tim Clark (Rsa)
(2) Tiger Woods (USA) v (15) Shaun Micheel (USA)
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