MARANA, Ariz. — The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship has 64 entrants and beautiful brackets just waiting to be filled in like the NCAA Basketball tournament. The difference is, there are no gimmes in match play golf.

Eighteen holes are not enough for the best players to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Even 72-hole events usually have a dozen players within four or five strokes of the winner.

So picking the winners of 18-hole matches, mere sprints, is unlikely. Any player in this field, which features the world’s best available 64 golfers, can shoot 63 on any given day. Tiger Woods has fallen to the likes of Peter O’Malley, Nick O’Hern, Tim Clark and Chad Campbell.

Enough with the alibis. Here, then, are the key matches and predictions on how the first round may turn out. (Wednesday’s schedule is here.)

Jones Bracket: It’s a great day when Steve Stricker, the pride of Edgerton, Wis., is the No. 1-seeded player in the field. As a former Match Play champ and No. 1 seed, Stricker literally is the guy to beat this week. He’ll get past Ross McGowan into the second round … Ryo Ishikawa and Michael Sim square off in what is this bracket’s marquee match. Ishikawa is already a superstar in his home country of Japan while Sim is the best player you still haven’t heard of. Sim wins.

Upset special: Masters champ Angel Cabrera gets surprised by the no-longer-slumping Adam Scott of Australia. Scott’s form is coming around. He broke his drought by winning in Australia during the winter (their summer).

More predictions: Ian Poulter was a Ryder Cup ace for captain Nick Faldo, and he’ll need all that skill to edge past Justin Leonard, who has finished fourth and fifth in the last two Match Plays. He’s a tough out … Anthony Kim gets the nod over Matt Kuchar … Other winners will be Robert Karlsson; Thongchai Jaidee, who played well in Dubai; and Padraig Harrington, frequently a slow starter.

Hogan Bracket: Martin Kaymer of Germany is seeded first, and he’s my pick to win the whole tournament. It may be Kaymer versus Henrik Stenson in the final. The guy won in the desert already on the European Tour. He’s long, perfect for this course, and he seems to hole more long putts — or at least come close — than anybody on either tour. He’ll beat Chad Campbell.

Upset special: Rory McIlroy, the Irish boy wonder, was fifth in his Match Play debut last year. He’s been bothered by a bad back the last few weeks, however. Beware the sick golfer? In this case, look for underrated Kevin Na to knock off Rory

More predictions: Tim Clark, former Tiger-killer, keeps getting better with age. So did Vijay Singh up to a point. Clark takes him down … Other match-winners will be Lucas Glover, Oliver Wilson (mild upset over Dubai winner Miguel Angel Jimenez), Robert Allenby and Luke Donald.

Player Bracket: The one match to watch here is Pebble Beach winner Dustin Johnson, potentially the breakout American star, versus Camilo Villegas, Colombia’s greatest golfer. Johnson played well on the whole West Coast swing, so he’s hot and confident. Go with Johnson.

Upset special: Soren Kjeldsen of Sweden is one of those guys who doesn’t beat himself. Very steady. He’s going to surprise PGA champion Y.E. Yang, who had a busy offseason and not much time to recover.

More predictions: Geoff Ogilvy, defending champion, should eliminate Sweden’s Alexander Noren. Ogilvy has a tough road. Assuming my picks are right, he’ll face Dustin Johnson in the second round, and possibly Henrik Stenson in the third … Ryan Moore, who is playing well, has a good chance against match play vet Ernie Els, but look for Els to hold on, maybe in extra holes … Nick Watney plays Uta Ikeda (no relation to the cheap-o furniture outlets). Watney is the superior ballstriker … Other winners should be Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson.

Snead Bracket: It’ll be fun to watch monster-long Alvaro Quiros play not-so-long-hitting Mike Weir. Weir is very good at match play, but this desert course really rewards length, so Quiros is the pick.

Upset special: It’s hard to call it an upset, but Brian Gay, another not-long hitter, takes out power-hitting Kenny Perry.

More predictions: Really interesting match between two finesse players, Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank. It’s anybody’s guess, and I’ll guess Furyk … Charl Schwartzel has already won twice on the European tour so he seems hotter than Hunter Mahan … Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson will beat the Molinari brothers of Italy, Edoardo and Francesco … Other winners are Sean O’Hair and last year’s runner up, Paul Casey.

In other predictions, I’m calling for sunny and warm weather for Tucson this week … and also for the next nine straight months. Yeah, crazy stuff.

Welcome to the latest edition of Fantasy Fix, where we count ourselves among the minority that actually cares about
the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Yes, that’s right, we’ve reached our first double-dip week,
where the upper echelon of the PGA Tour makes its way to the WGC-Accenture
Match Play Championship event, while others play in a tournament that will
be jockeying for airtime in between a bunch of infomercials on the Golf
Channel. For fantasy golf purposes, however, most formats make Mayakoba the
main event for the week, so that’s where we’ll shift our attention.

But before we bid adieu to the big guns, a couple thoughts on the action in
Arizona in case you can still pick up points in your league for this
match play tournament. Remember, in a one-and-done format, anyone can beat
anyone on any given day, which can lead to some, let’s just say,
less-than-scintillating matchups. I mean, who can forget that 2002 final in
which Kevin Sutherland defeated Scott McCarron? To make things worse, the 1-up margin of victory actually meant viewers were subjected to watching 36 holes between those two.

The point is, in a situation where the worst player in the field is
separated from the best by about one stroke per round, you may as well swing
for the fences. Here are some non-No. 1 seeds (Martin Kaymer is a No. 1
seed?!) that I am predicting to make deep runs: Rory McIlroy, Tim
Clark (duh), Ian Poulter and Charl Schwartzel.

Now back to the important tournament in Mexico, where golfers who miss the
cut can drive about a half hour north to take shots of tequila with spring
breakers in Cancun. Those who manage the hang around will be vying for a $3.6 million purse, so let’s get to it:

STUDS

Mark Wilson: If you knew that this guy was the defending champion at
El Camaleon Golf Club, then there are only three conclusions that can be
made:
1. You are a relative of Wilson (Least likely)
2. You are a fantasy golf fanatic (More likely)
3. You seriously need to get out of the house (Most likely).

In case you don’t fall into any of those categories, I’ll fill you in by
informing you that Wilson held off J.J. Henry by two shots to claim
his second career win on the PGA Tour. OK, so maybe it counted as No. 1.5.

Then there’s Heath Slocum. Despite his David-vs.-Goliath-like
performance last year in winning the Barclays, the first leg of the FedExCup
Playoffs, normally, he would fall under the “Sleepers” category. However,
this week, he’s the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 77, meaning he
gets to walk around like he owns the joint.

And how can you not give David Duval a chance here. I pumped him up
early in the season and like many others, he came through — just a couple
weeks late. Duval certainly looked back in top form this past week at Pebble
Beach, where he nearly came out on top as others around him did their best to
give it away.

His performance marked the first time since the 2001 Buick Challenge that he
posted four rounds in the 60s of a four-round event. At that point, he was
still one of the top-ranked players on the planet. While he still needs a telescope to see the golfer currently perched there, the T-2 did move him from 205th to 104th in the latest edition of the world rankings.

I’m sure D.D. has his eyes on being in the top 64 by this time next year so
he can play in the match play, but for now, take advantage of him
playing against this watered-down field. In fact, taking chalk here does
appear the way to go. Despite never getting top-flight talent, the Mayakoba
has produced fairly recognizable winners all three years its been around in
Wilson, Brian Gay and Fred Funk.

To that point, I’m looking to K.J. Choi (Who has been doing this column
proud since I started pumping him up a few weeks back) and Charles Howell
III. Choi has made the cut in all four of his events thus far and CH3
already has two top-10 finishes to his credit. So, too, does D.J. Trahan,
including one last week, and Kevin Stadler’s T-10 at Riviera shows he’s in
fine form and capable of taking a celebratory dip in Caribbean. Not that
anyone needs to see that.

DUDS

Carlos Franco: You’d think the native of Paraguay would enjoy playing
a little closer to home, but instead, he’s been a complete disaster. On the
bright side, Franco has only missed the cut at this event three times. On
the dark side, the tournament has only been around for three years.