Despite his high seeding, Adam Scott drew a tough first-round opponent in South African Tim Clark for this week’s lucrative World Golf Championships Match Play in Tucson, Arizona.

Clark, a friend of Scott’s and a fellow long putter user, finished in a tie for ninth in his last two starts at the head-to-head, knock-out event before missing the last two editions through injury.

He has joined Scott on three of his President’s Cup teams and was an assistant coach at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when injured.

Scott’s record at the match play event since it moved to the Arizona desert in 2007 is poor, never progressing beyond the second round.

If he can get past Clark, his route to get out of his bracket and on to the final could include 2010 champion Ian Poulter and 2011 champion Luke Donald.

John Senden is also in the same bracket, facing a first-round match against American Bo Van Pelt.

Jason Day drew former Masters champion Zach Johnson in the first round and, if he survives, could come up against South African Charl Schwartzel, the man who beat Day and Scott in the 2011 Masters.

World No.1 Rory McIlroy is also in Day’s bracket, although the pair wouldn’t meet until the quarter-finals should they both get that far.

Australia’s other participant, Marcus Fraser, will take on 2011 US PGA champion Keegan Bradley in the first round in a bracket with the likes of Louis Oosthuizen, Ernie Els, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia.

No Australians are in the same bracket as Tiger Woods who meets fellow American Charles Howell III in the first round.