Field set for Match Play; Stricker enters as No. 1 seed

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MARANA, Ariz. -- The stage is set with the field for next week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship finalized Friday night (see entire list below).

Steve Stricker, who moved to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory last week at the Northern Trust Open, becomes the fourth different No. 1 overall seed in the 12-year history of the Accenture Match Play Championship. Joining Stricker as No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets are England's Lee Westwood, the highest-ranked international player in the field, USA's Jim Furyk and Germany's Martin Kaymer.

The top 64 from the Official World Golf Ranking (as of Monday, Feb. 8) had until 5 p.m. ET Friday to officially commit to the tournament. Complete brackets will be released on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. ET when they become official.

The first round of match play, featuring 32 head-to-head matches, begins Wednesday, Feb. 17, at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain.

The four brackets at the Accenture Match Play Championship are named in honor of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Sam Snead. Players in each of the four brackets are seeded No. 1 through No. 16, with the top-ranked golfer playing the No. 16 seed, No. 2 pairing off against No. 15, No. 3 vs. No. 14, and so forth in the first round.

Stricker became the No. 1 overall seed by virtue of World No. 1 Tiger Woods' decision not to compete in the Accenture Match Play Championship. Stricker, who won the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2001 as the No. 55 seed, joins Woods (1999, 2000, 2002-2004, 2006-2009), Ernie Els (2001) and Vijay Singh (2005) as the only No. 1 overall seeds in the history of the tournament. He will be the No. 1 seed in the Bobby Jones Bracket.

Westwood, currently ranked No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, earned the No. 2 overall seed when Phil Mickelson, ranked No. 3 in the OWGR, withdrew due to a conflict with family plans. The appearance will be Westwood's 10th in the event as he looks to improve on an Accenture Match Play Championship record in which he has never advanced past the second round. Furyk (No. 5 in the OWGR) will also make his 10th appearance in the Accenture Match Play Championship while Kaymer (No. 6) will make just his third. Westwood will be the top seed in the Gary Player bracket while Furyk and Kaymer will be the top seeds in the Snead and Hogan brackets, respectively.

The direct beneficiaries of Woods and Mickelson not competing are Chris Wood (No. 65) and Ross McGowan (No. 66), a pair of Englishmen who gained entry into the field by virtue of their standing in the Official World Golf Ranking. Both Wood and McGowan will be making their first appearance in the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Other first-timers hoping to make their Accenture Match Play Championship debuts memorable ones are: USA's Nick Watney (No. 33); Japan's Ryo Ishikawa (No. 34); Australia's Michael Sim (No. 35); Japan's Yuta Ikeda (No. 36); USA's Matt Kuchar (No. 42); Italy's Francesco (No. 45) and Edoardo (No. 48) Molinari; USA's Ryan Moore (No. 52); England's Simon Dyson (No. 53); USA's Brian Gay (No. 56); Sweden's Alexander Noren (No. 57) ; and USA's Kevin Na (No. 62).