HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson claimed the top four seeds for the WGC-Cadillac Match Play after the Official World Golf Ranking was released Sunday.
The greater drama came at the other end of the field list.
With a third place finish at the European Tour's Shenzhen International, Tommy Fleetwood moved from 66th in the ranking to 55th, solidifying his place in the Match Play field for the first time.
Ben Martin similarly clinched his maiden spot in the tournament, hanging on to the 64th position with a share of 37th place at the RBC Heritage this week.
A few others should get in based on pre-tournament withdrawals.
Luke Donald has previously revealed he will forgo the event for his brother's wedding, which means Miguel Angel Jimenez, at No. 65, will be in the field. And there exists speculation that Tim Clark, who recently missed the Masters due to an elbow injury, will remain sidelined, opening the door for No. 66 Francesco Molinari.
Jim Furyk, who won the RBC Heritage on Sunday, is currently ranked fifth.
Contested at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco for the first time, the tournament will take place April 29-May 3.
For the first time this year, the Match Play will feature round-robin group play, as each player is guaranteed at least three matches during the first three days of the event.
The top 16 players in the field will each be placed in different groups, and a blind draw on Monday of tournament week will determine the other three players within each one.