If the truth be known, there is no such thing as an easy draw in the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay.
Even allowing for those absent, among them Rory McIlroy, the strength in depth on tour these days is such that each and every one of the 16 groups – or brackets – is loaded, as both Shane Lowry and Séamus Power discovered when the draw for this week's edition took place in Austin, Texas.
For Lowry, who showcased his matchplay pedigree at last year's Ryder Cup but who inexplicably has failed to catch fire at previous WGC mano-mano combat, there came a group that also included Brooks Koepka, the in-form Harold Varner III and Erik van Rooyen.
In Power's case, the draw has pitted him in the round-robin stage with world number four Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im and Keith Mitchell.
With one point for a win and half a point for halved matches through the round-robins, the winner of each group will advance to the last 16 stage at which point it becomes a knockout in true matchplay.
Lowry, who has finished tied-13th (The Players) and tied-12th (the Valspar Championship) in the past two weeks, will be looking to change a relatively poor record in the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay which, in his six previous visits, failed to see him advance beyond the group phase: his best finish is tied-24th in 2019.
"My game is in great shape and we've got a great stretch of tournaments coming up, so I'm really excited for the next run of events," said Lowry after completing all four rounds at the Valspar in the 60s but still removed from the fight for the title, eventually won by Sam Burns who incidentally then pulled out of the Matchplay.
Lowry managed a quick visit home to his family at their Florida residence before again getting on the move to travel westwards to Texas.
“I feel like I have had no days off the last few weeks,” admitted Lowry of a run that saw the weather-hit The Players extend into a fifth day and then saw him move on to the Valspar.
"Hopefully I can go out and win my match on Wednesday and see where it goes from there," said Lowry of bringing momentum with him for the head-to-head battles, which will be followed by a week off next week (skipping the Valero Texas Open) as he recharges the batteries and focus ahead of the upcoming US Masters tournament.
World rankings
Power, currently in 48th place in the world rankings, must remain inside the top-50 after the WGC-Dell Technologies tournament if he is also to make his way to Augusta National. The cut-off point for that final exemption comes next Monday, with Power at least having his fate in his own hands.
The Waterford man, making his debut in the Matchplay which has a $12 million purse for the 64-man field, is also in a tough group with Cantlay among the favourites to lift the title.
Power’s rise up the world rankings (he was 463rd in this equivalent week last year) has brought him to a new level where he has shown to be extremely comfortable.
With some players mapping out their preferred run-ups to Augusta, among those to skip the matchplay are McIlroy, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English and Phil Mickelson.
Burns’s withdrawal after winning the Valspar enabled Maverick McNealy to move from first alternate into the field.
