As we edge closer and closer to the Masters, we'll see golf's elite put through the ultimate test in Austin, Texas this week, which concludes with 72 holes in 48 hours over the weekend... if they're lucky (lucky?!).

A Dip in the Pools

Gary Player once said "The more I practice, the luckier I get". He wasn't the first or the last man to say this, but he certainly made it popular on the golf course. Unfortunately, no matter how much you practice, there's not much you can do about the luck of the draw in the WGC Match Play. Admittedly, there's no such thing as an easy group when the field is made up of the top 64 golfers in the world. However, if you told Sergio Garcia that he'd drawn No. 62 of 64, he’d expect something kinder than Shubhanker Sharma. Pair that with last year's PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in Xander Shauffele and I don't fancy his chances. Sorry Sergio. Tommy Fleetwood had a similar case of bad luck, with the lowest-ranked player in his pool being match-play-master Ian Poulter.

Now, I can't go through every group, but there are some notable matchups to keep an eye out for. Justin Thomas will face off with Luke List again; a repeat of the Honda Classic playoff, as well as Patton Kizzire, who sits one behind FedEx Cup leader JT in the current standings. Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed have teamed up 12 times in the past, but will lock horns for the first time this week. Australia's Jason Day faces a rematch of the 2016 final in this tournament against South African Louis Oosthuizen. Day won the previous fixture to move to World No. 1, but he now sits at No. 11- Oosthuizen's ranking during that final.

Texas Table Toppers

Tommy Fleetwood drawing Ian Poulter was unfortunate regardless, but the fact that the two Englishmen will face off on the opening day (highest-ranked vs. lowest-ranked) means that age won't provide the helping hand Fleetwood would've hoped for. That said, if the 27-year-old can win on the opening day then I think he's got a serious chance of silverware. On the topic of Englishmen, Paul Casey should top his group with form on his side, as should Tyrrell Hatton, who finished T3 at the WGC-Mexico Championship. An Englishman to win the tournament would be solid bet this week.

We would all expect Rory McIlroy to steamroll Brian Harman, Jhonattan Vegas & Peter Uihlein, but the rest of the world's top 10 have competitive groups. Kevin Kisner, Adam Hadwin & Bernd Wiesberger will likely push Dustin Johnson to some decent golf, and Jon Rahm is right in saying his is "Certainly not an easy group" (Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Chez Reavie & Keegan Bradley). I also personally prefer Patrick Cantlay over Hideki Matsuyama. Meanwhile, veteran Phil Mickelson faces an uphill battle against Rafa Cabrera Bello, the highest-ranked unseeded/Pool B player in the field (No. 17).

I'm looking at these groups like a kid in a candy shop, wanting to discuss the possibilities of every single one in great depth, but I'm not sure my keyboard can take that sort of wear & tear. Therefore, I'll leave you with this: it should be a great week for the Englishmen. Fleetwood, Casey and Hatton are all big threats at big odds, with Casey given a generous draw and youth favouring Fleetwood & Hatton over a whopping 126 holes.

No Tiger? No trouble. We won't be short of quality golf this week.

Credit: @PGATOUR - Official Twitter account of PGA Tour

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com