Bob MacIntyre to face world No 1 Dustin Johnson in WGC Match Play

Bob MacIntyre will face world No 1 Dustin Johnson in this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas after the pair were drawn in the same group today.
Bob Macintyre in action during the Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.Bob Macintyre in action during the Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
Bob Macintyre in action during the Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

The young Scot, who is making his debut in the event, will also take on two other Americans, Kevin Na and Adam Long, in the round-robin stage at Austin Country Club.

Na, a five-time PGA Tour winner, is MacIntyre’s first opponent on Wednesday in the last of 32 matches starting at 8.11pm UK time.

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The 24-year-old from Oban then faces Masters champion Johnson at 6.32pm UK time on Thursday before concluding the knock-out phase against Long, who won the 2019 Desert Classic on the PGA Tour, on Friday.

Dustin Johnson during the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images.Dustin Johnson during the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images.
Dustin Johnson during the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images.

The time for the latter has still to be determined and will be based on how groups are standing after the opening two matches.

It will take a monumental effort for MacIntyre to eclipse Johnson over the three matches and progress to the last 16 as the group winner, but, on the other hand, it’s an exciting opportunity.

"Nothing changes,” said MacIntyre of hearing about his group. “There are still three guys to get past. It's a big draw, but it's where you want to be so no complaints.

“I'll mark their cards and they'll mark mine and we will see who goes through in the end."

If he can pull it off, MacIntyre would then meet the winner from a group comprising Dundee-based Frenchman Victor Perez, Sungjae Im, Marc Leishman and Russell Henley.

Defending champion Kevin Kisner has world No 2 and recent Players’ Championship winner Justin Thomas in his group, which also includes 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Matt Kuchar.

One of the most intriguing groups is an all-European line up of English trio Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwod and Matt Wallace and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

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Rory McIloy, the 2015 winner, has Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter in his group.

Full draw (with seedings in brackets)

Group 1: [1] Dustin Johnson [28] Kevin Na [41] Robert MacIntyre [61] Adam Long

Group 2: [2] Justin Thomas [22] Louis Oosthuizen [34] Kevin Kisner [52] Matt Kuchar

Group 3: [3] Jon Rahm [24] Ryan Palmer [38] Shane Lowry [56] Sebastian Munoz

Group 4: [4] Collin Morikawa [32] Billy Horschel [35] Max Homa [63] J.T. Poston

Group 5: [5] Bryson DeChambeau [21] Tommy Fleetwood [45] Si Woo Kim [58] Antoine Rozner

Group 6: [6] Xander Schauffele [30] Scottie Scheffler [44] Jason Day [57] Andy Sullivan

Group 7: [7] Patrick Reed [26] Joaquin Niemann [33] Christiaan Bezuidenhout [55] Bubba Watson

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Group 8: [8] Tyrrell Hatton [18] Lee Westwood [39] Sergio Garcia [51] Matt Wallace

Group 9: [9] Webb Simpson [17] Paul Casey [48] Mackenzie Hughes [59] Talor Gooch

Group 10: [10] Patrick Cantlay [23] Hideki Matsuyama [42] Carlos Ortiz [54] Brian Harman

Group 11: [11] Rory McIlroy, [25] Cameron Smith, [46] Lanto Griffin, [60] Ian Poulter

Group 12: [12] Tony Finau [29] Jason Kokrak [40] Will Zalatoris [64] Dylan Frittelli

Group 13: [13] Viktor Hovland [27] Abraham Ancer [43] Bernd Wiesberger [53] Kevin Streelman

Group 14: [14] Daniel Berger [19] Harris English [47] Brendon Todd [62] Erik van Rooyen

Group 15: [15] Matt Fitzpatrick [20] Matthew Wolff [37] Corey Conners [49] Jordan Spieth

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Group 16: [16] Sungjae Im [31] Victor Perez [36] Marc Leishman [50] Russell Henley

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