Clarke v McDowell at La Costa

GOLF: As things stand, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell are poised for a head-to-head encounter in the first round in next week's Accenture Matchplay in La Costa.

The field will be confined to the top 64 available players from the world rankings after this weekend's tournaments (the Malaysian Open and the Nissan Open) and, currently, only world number three Ernie Els from those guaranteed a place has declined it.

But the draw, as it is now, would see Clarke and McDowell pitched against each other. Clarke won the event in 2000 and was placed third last year, while McDowell will be making his debut.

Padraig Harrington, currently the seventh seed for the tournament, is looking at a first-round match with former US Ryder Cup player Jeff Maggert.

But some pairings are likely to be affected by movements in the world rankings after this week's events. Colin Montgomerie, currently 69th, is among those depending on further withdrawals to claim a starting place.

The formal draw will not be made until Monday and will change if there are any more withdrawals, but Els will probably be the only absentee, with Shingo Katatyama likely to be drafted in.

Meanwhile, two international venues will be among the 13 sectional qualifiers held to determine spots for this year's US Open, the United States Golf Association have announced.

The 36-hole international qualifiers will be conducted at Ono Golf Club, near Kobe, Japan, on May 30th, and at Walton Heath Golf Club, near London, on June 6th, the day after the Wales Open finishes. The remaining 11 sectional qualifiers will be held from June 6th-7th in the US.

The US Open will be held from June 16th-19th at Pinehurst No 2 Course in North Carolina. Sectional qualifiers historically determine roughly 80 spots in the 156-player US Open field, with the remaining golfers having earned full exemptions.

The move is to encourage participation from a growing number of international players who are exempt from first-stage qualifying (local) but who, historically, have not competed in the final stage of qualifying (sectional) in the US because of scheduling and travel-related issues.