World Matchplay championship:Pádraig Harrington faces a six foot, 205lb banana skin in the formidable shape of Ryder Cup team-mate Lee Westwood at the Gallery Golf Club near Tucson today.
But in common with Darren Clarke and the Dungannon man's first-round rival Sergio Garcia, the biggest challenge facing the European number one will be the huge, undulating putting surfaces of a desert track that plays into the hands of the long hitters.
At 7,351 yards, the course is long but generous off the tee. Its biggest defence is its greens and Clarke admitted that reading them well will play a major part in his bid to progress past the first round for the first time since he lost to Davis Love in the semi- finals at La Costa in 2004.
"I wish it was still at La Costa," said Clarke, who beat Tiger Woods 4 and 3 there in 2000 to become Europe's only winner of this WGC event. "La Costa has always been good to me, that goes without saying. But this course is as big a challenge as Sergio is.
"There are no easy games this week, doesn't matter who you play. The course is fine, but the greens are difficult to read and there is a little bit of grain in them which is tough to see."
Clarke often lives and dies by his putter and while he says he will not be heartbroken to make an early exit so that he can watch Ireland take on England from the corporate box at Croke Park on Saturday, he is hoping to make another run at the title.
Harrington faces an equally dangerous opponent in Westwood, who showed at The K Club last September why he is one of the most feared match players in world golf. But the Dubliner is just as concerned about his ability to tackle a desert course where birdies may not be as easy to come by as many suspect.
"It's long," Harrington said after his first practice round. "Longer than I expected and I'm surprised how windy it is too. Some of the long irons into the greens, because they are so undulating, are releasing too much.
"It's generous off the tee but it needs to be, because if you are in the rough, you are in dire trouble. The greens are undulating, which will make it tough if the ball starts moving around because of the wind and it will make it awkward for chipping too."
Harrington regards the new venue as a tougher challenge than La Costa, where he reached the quarter-finals in 2004 and again last year. But if he makes as many birdies as he has in his last eight PGA Tour rounds - an impressive 37 - he could go all the way to the decider where he is seeded to meet Woods.
"It doesn't really matter who you play," said Westwood. "If my opponent was from Mars, I'd treat it the same. You just try to play well and hope he doesn't play better. The course is all right, nothing special. It's not my favourite course, but not one I mind playing. It's in great condition and the greens are good."
Another European with an interesting opponent is Henrik Stenson, the world number eight, who is seeking revenge on American Zach Johnson.
Stenson recalled he and Harrington were beaten by Johnson and Scott Verplank in their Saturday fourball match at last year's Ryder Cup.
"It gives me a chance for payback," said the powerful Swede, who is coming off a victory in Dubai, his last tournament, less than three weeks ago. He's a good player, a fighter, and it's going to be a tough match. "
World Matchplay
Venue:Gallery GC, Tucson, Arizona
TV:SkySports 1 from 6.0pm
Prize fund:$8,000,000
Length:7,351yds. Par: 72
Defending champion:Geoff Ogilvy
Did you know:Ogilvy needed to play 80 holes in four matches on his way to last year's semi-finals, going to extra holes in three of the ties. Matches up to the final are all over 18 holes with the decider itself played over 36 holes.
First roundTee-off times
(USA unless stated, all times Local, (x) denotes amateurs):
STARTING AT HOLE 1:
07.50 - Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Thomas Bjorn (Den). 07.59 - Chris DiMarco, Brett Wetterich. 08.08 - Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Steve Stricker. 08.17 - Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Paul Goydos. 08.26 - Henrik Stenson (Swe), Zach Johnson. 08.35 - KJ Choi (Kor), Carl Pettersson (Swe). 08.44 - Padraig Harrington (Irl), Lee Westwood (Eng). 08.53 - Stewart Cink, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind). 09.02 - Ernie Els (Rsa), Bradley Dredge (Wal). 09.11 - Ian Poulter (Eng), Bart Bryant. 09.20 - Retief Goosen (Rsa), Scott Verplank. 09.29 - Joe Durant, Niclas Fasth (Swe). 09.38 - Luke Donald (Eng), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa). 09.47 - Shingo Katayama (Jpn), Aaron Baddeley (Aus). 09.56 - Vijay Singh (Fij), John Rollins. 10.05 - Robert Karlsson (Swe), Stephen Ames (Can). 10.14 - Sergio Garcia (Spa), Darren Clarke (NIrl). 10.23 - Stuart Appleby (Aus), Charles Howell III. 10.32 - Paul Casey (Eng), Mike Weir (Can). 10.41 - Colin Montgomerie (Sco), Johan Edfors (Swe). 10.50 - Nick O'Hern (Aus), Lucas Glover. 10.59 - David Howell (Eng), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa). 11.08 - Davis Love III, Ben Crane. 11.17 - David Toms, Arron Oberholser. 11.26 - Phil Mickelson, Richard Green (Aus). 11.35 - Michael Campbell (Nzl), Justin Rose (Eng). 11.44 - Adam Scott (Aus), Shaun Micheel. 11.53 - YE Yang (Jpn), Rodney Pampling (Aus). 12.02 - Tiger Woods, J J Henry. 12.11 - Tim Clark (Rsa), Robert Allenby (Aus). 12.20 - Jim Furyk, Brett Quigley. 12.29 - Angel Cabrera (Arg), Chad Campbell.
