McGowan awaits Woods verdict

By Mark Garrod, Press Association Sport Golf Correspondent Last updated: 8th February 2010

England's Ryder Cup hopeful Ross McGowan has more reason than anybody for wanting to know if Tiger Woods is going to return to golf at next week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Woods has until Friday to decide whether to end the indefinite break he announced in December in a bid to save his marriage.

There has been one unconfirmed report that he could declare himself ready to play, but most people are expecting him to stay out of the public eye for some time yet because of his sex scandal.

McGowan is 66th in the world, but 65th-placed Chris Wood already knows he is in the 64-man field because Phil Mickelson has announced he is missing the event to spend time with his family.

If Woods and Mickelson are both absent McGowan would have to take on new world number two Steve Stricker in the opening round next Wednesday, while Wood would face stablemate Lee Westwood.

They were the two players, of course, who bogeyed the last hole to miss out on the play-off at last year's Open Championship.

On the assumption that Woods does not play and there are no further withdrawals there would be two other all-European clashes in the first round - Luke Donald against Graeme McDowell and Oliver Wilson against Dubai Desert Classic winner Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Rory McIlroy, now up to a best-ever seventh in the world, would play American Kevin Na, with Padraig Harrington taking on Indian Jeev Milkha Singh, last year's runner-up Paul Casey versus Canadian Stephen Ames and Ian Poulter versus ex-Open champion Justin Leonard.

Ross Fisher, who won the sport's other World Match Play title in Spain last October, is set to take on Thai Thongchai Jaidee, with Geoff Ogilvy starting his defence against Swede Alex Noren.

Mark Garrod, Press Association Sport Golf Correspondent