World number one <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/topic/people/sport/golfers/rory-mcilroy">Rory McIlroy</a> will face Ireland's Shane Lowry in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona on Wednesday. With <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/topic/people/sport/golfers/phil-mickelson">Phil Mickelson</a> and Brandt Snedeker pulling out of the first of this season's world championships Lowry, winner of the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur, was in line to clash with second seed <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/topic/people/sport/golfers/tiger-woods">Tiger Woods</a>. But that changed when Fredrik Jacobson, last man in as replacement for the injured Snedeker, finished joint third at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles and moved up on the world rankings from 66th into the top 50, leaving Lowry to face the world number one. McIlroy was beaten 2&1 by Hunter Mahan in last year's Match Play final. Woods, a three-times winner of the event, will face Charles Howell III in Wednesday's opening round while third-ranked Luke Donald takes on Marcel Siem of Germany. Jacobson, who tied for third at the Northern Trust Open on Sunday after bogeying the final hole, will meet South African Ernie Els in the opening round. "I'm just excited to be a part of it," Jacobson said. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll deal with it when I get there. "You never know how much golf you get to play, but I know I'm going to get there and play some golf. It's always fun. Anything can happen, we know that. It can be a quick exit or you can be there for a long time." <strong>Draw for the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain, Tucson, Arizona, United States, on Wednesday (seeded positions in brackets):</strong> (1) Rory McIlroy v (64) Shane Lowry, (32) Rickie Fowler v (33) Carl Pettersson, (16) Dustin Johnson v (49) Alexander Noren, (17) Graeme McDowell v (48) Padraig Harrington, (8) Bubba Watson v (57) Chris Wood, (25) Jim Furyk v (40) Ryan Moore, (9) Charl Schwartzel v (56) Russell Henley, (24) Zach Johnson v (41) Glen Day (4) Louis Oosthuizen v (61) Richie Ramsay, (29) Branden Grace v (36) Robert Garrigus, (13) Keegan Bradley v (52) Marcus Fraser, (20) Ernie Els v (45) Fredrik Jacobson, (5) Justin Rose v (60) KJ Choi, (28) Bill Haas v (37) Nicolas Colsaerts, (12) Sergio Garcia v (53) Thongchai Jaidee, (21) Matt Kuchar v (44) Hiroyuki Fujita (2) Tiger Woods v (63) Charles Howell, (31) Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano v (34) Francesco Molinari, (15) Webb Simpson v (50) David Lynn, (18) Peter Hanson v (47) Thomas Bjorn, (7) Lee Westwood v (58) Rafael Cabrera Bello, (26) Martin Kaymer v (39) George Coetzee, (10) Jason Dufner v (55) Richard Sterne, (23) Hunter Mahan v (42) Matteo Manassero (3) Luke Donald v (62) Marcel Siem, (30) Paul Lawrie v (35) Scott Piercy, (14) Steve Stricker v (51) Henrik Stenson, (19) Nick Watney v (46) David Toms, (6) Adam Scott v (59) Tim Clark, (27) Jamie Donaldson v (38) Thorbjorn Olesen, (11) Ian Poulter v (54) Stephen Gallacher, (22) Bo Van Pelt v (43) John Sende Follow us
