Donald draws Els in first round of Match Play

MARANA, Ariz. — De­fen­ding champion Luke Don­ald will face Ernie Els in the first round of the Match Play Cham­pionship this week. Tiger Woods will play Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
The seeding for the first World Golf Championship of the year is based on the world ranking released Sunday night.

Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westood and Martin Kaymer are the top four seeds. Woods, a three-time winner of the Match Play, is the No. 19 seed, the first time he has played the event without being among the top three seeds.

The 64-man field begins Wednes­day at Dove Moun­tain. Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey are not playing.

The Donald-Els match is the highest-profile one for an opening round since Woods played Nick Faldo in the inaugural event in 1999.