While Jason Day will try to emulate the
feats of Adam Scott by winning in back-to-back weeks at this week’s WGC Match
Play he, and the rest of the Australians in the field, have their work cut out
for them.

Day won this tournament in 2014 to prove
his match play mettle but was disappointing last year when the tournament moved
to a round robin format and required players to play three matches before
advancing to the next round.

The 16 pools of four players were drawn
yesterday and all five Australians will need to be at their best to advance to
round two.

Day’s group is made up of Paul Casey,
Graeme McDowell and Thongchai Jaidee while Adam Scott faces Bill Haas, Chris
Wood and Thomas Pieters.

Marcus Fraser tees up against Zach Johnson,
Shane Lowry and Martin Kaymer while Matt Jones plays Louis Oosthuizen, Andy
Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger.

Marc Leishman is the final Australian in
the field and has Sergio Garcia, Ryan Moore and Lee Westwood in his pool.

Day and Scott will be clear favourites in
their pools though the fickle nature of match play means both will need to be
on their best form to advance.

In Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell, Day will
face proven Ryder Cup performers while Thongchai Jaidee made it to the final of
the European Tour’s match play event in 2013.

However, as well as Day played last week,
particularly around and on the greens, he will be a formidable opponent this
week.

Meanwhile, Scott has the credentials to
account for all three opponents in his pool but historically hasn’t found the
match play format to his liking.

He has never advanced beyond the
semi-finals and was knocked out in the first round last year after three
straight losses.

However, the 2016 version of Adam Scott is
a more determined character and it would be a surprise if there was a repeat of
2015 this week.

Scott faces a dangerous opponent first up
in big hitting Belgian Thomas Pieters whose aggressive style of play can be
difficult to counter in a head-to-head contest.

Of the other Australians Marcus Fraser and
Matt Jones have the most difficult first round assignments, Jones to play 2010
Open champion Louis Oosthuizen first up while Fraser faces reigning Open
champion Zach Johnson.

Jones’ form of late has been less than
stellar but that matters less in this format than individual stroke play.

His opponent, meanwhile, has a good track
record in the match play event and has looked strong in recent weeks after a
win at the ISPS HANDA Perth International.

The underdog status won’t bother Jones and
if he can overcome Oosthuizen he will fancy his chances the rest of the week.

Fraser makes just his second appearance at
the tournament after advancing to the second round in 2013 and the Victorian is
exactly the type of player that could surprise in this format.

His sound short game and reliable putting
are keys to wearing down an opponent but in Zach Johnson he meets a golfer cut
very much from the same cloth.

While the current Open champion is
favourite on paper, a switch to new clubs this season has seen some inconsistent
form early though a T5 at Bay Hill last week suggests that might be settled
now.

Marc Leishman is the final Australian in
the field but could be the surprise performer this week.

Leishman has quietly built a formidable
match play record in recent years, accounting for Jordan Spieth in the singles
at the Presidents Cup last year and advancing to the round of 16 at this
tournament in 2015 also.

He faces Ryan Moore on day one where he
will be the favourite but might find the going tougher against Ryder Cup stars
Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood in his next two games.

Leishman has played consistent golf in
recent weeks without setting the world on fire and will be quietly confident of
another good showing this week.

The WGC Dell Match Play begins Wednesday US
time in Texas, a day earlier than normal PGA TOUR events.