Golf - Clarke And Casey Set For WGC Battle
Darren Clarke is likely to face Ryder Cup team-mate Paul Casey in the first round of the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona next week.
Clarke is the only European to lift the title, having beaten Tiger Woods in 2000, while Casey won last year's £1m Wentworth World Match Play.
The top-64 event, based on rankings, puts Clarke against Sergio Garcia.
But American Arron Oberholser is expected to withdraw with a bad back, meaning Clarke would play Casey.
Oberholser pulling out would also mean Lee Westwood switching from a duel with European number one Padraig Harrington to a meeting with defending champion Geoff Ogilvy.
Harrington would take on American Ryder Cup player Zach Johnson instead.
Four all-European clashes are on the cards for next Wednesday's opening day - Casey against Clarke, Colin Montgomerie against Swede Johan Edfors, Garcia against Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson against Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Welshman Bradley Dredge is set to play either Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els depending on Oberholser's fitness.
Top seed Woods will start against either Brett Quigley or JJ Henry - and could come up against David Howell in the third round and Luke Donald in the quarter-finals.
If the seedings work out, the semi-finals would be Woods v Mickelson and Jim Furyk v Adam Scott.
But the matches, played over 18 holes with a 36-hole final , have a history of throwing up surprises.
Twice winner Woods has lost in the past to Jeff Maggert, Clarke, Peter O'Malley, Nick O'Hern and Chad Campbell.
The WGC Match Play takes place at the Gallery Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona from 21-25 February.
