World Matchplay Championship:The two heavyweights have been thrown straight into the fray.

So, while there are such ancillary matters as Paul Casey attempting to defend a title for the first time and of Justin Rose seeking to chase down Padraig Harrington's lead on the money list, the toe-to-toe contest between Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els in the HSBC World Matchplay adds a touch of spice to today's first round.

"It's a draw that I don't think either of us wanted," conceded Montgomerie, adding: "But it doesn't matter, because they are all very, very difficult games. Every match will be of a good standard. You don't go around here expecting to win holes with pars nowadays. You need a lot of birdies, and I look forward to the challenge. It should be interesting."

In fact, Monty couldn't have had a tougher opener. Els, who lives on the Wentworth estate for a good portion of the year, is a six-time winner of the Matchplay - having completed the first of two hat-tricks when winning in 1996 and repeating the trick when winning for a third straight time in 2004 - and is responsible for tweaking the West Course in an upgrading process that has been conducted over the past three years.

Els's record is impressive: in 11 appearances in the World Matchplay, he has won six times with an overall record in that time of 27 matches played of which he has won 22 and lost just five times. The only time he failed to survive the first round was against Angel Cabrera last year. On each of the two previous occasions he faced Montgomerie, Els triumphed: in the 1994 final and, then, in the second round in 2002.

Yet, Montgomerie has some impressive statistics of his own. This is his 14th appearance in the Matchplay and if he has only actually won the title once - in 1999 - the Scot is more familiar than anyone with the course, having won three PGA titles here.

"In strokeplay, you play your ball against the course. I much prefer to play against the man, that form of golf. I enjoy matchplay much more than I do strokeplay. You don't have a card in your pocket. If I was to choose a sport again, I would much prefer a one-on-one than one against hundreds of others (as in strokeplay tournaments)," said Montgomerie, although finding an alternative didn't readily come to his mind.

Boxing? "No, that wouldn't be a sport I would choose. I'd be crap at boxing . . . and tennis, no, I wouldn't be able to get the ball back . . . darts maybe . . . no, I'll stick to golf. I'm lucky to be doing what I am doing."

One thing is for sure, Montgomerie needs to address a slide in form this season. Having started the year ranked 17th, he has slipped to 48th in the world and is seeded 15th - with only Jerry Kelly behind him - for this championship. "I need to start going in the right direction," said Montgomerie, "and there's no better time than starting here."