Els moves up PGA Tour debut, will tee off in Accenture Match Play
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Ernie Els has decided to launch his 2008 PGA Tour season earlier than scheduled and will play in next week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his manager said on Thursday.
The globe-trotting Els, who played in European Tour tournaments in Dubai and India the past two weeks, initially had planned to make his first appearance in the United States at the Feb. 29-March 2 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
"Ernie feels fine and will play in Tucson next week," his manager Andrew Chandler told Reuters in a text message.
The elite Accenture Match Play Championship, being held at Dove Mountain's Gallery Golf Club in Arizona for the second year in a row, features the top 64 players in the world.
The 64-man brackets will not be set until Monday afternoon, although Els likely would play Jonathan Byrd in the first round.
His decision means Anthony Kim, who was poised to be the 64th seed, will miss the tournament unless someone backs out. Tiger Woods, the No. 1 seed, would face FBR Open champion J.B. Holmes in the first round.
Although Els has won the European Tour's World Match Play Championship at Wentworth a record seven times, he has struggled to make an impact in the PGA Tour's equivalent.
In seven appearances, he has been knocked out in the opening round four times, most recently by Britain's Bradley Dredge last year.
Els's best performance came in 2001, when the event was held in Australia for the first time and he reached the semifinals, losing to Sweden's Pierre Fulke 2 and 1.
Sweden's Henrik Stenson won last year's Accenture Match Play Championship, beating Geoff Ogilvy of Australia 2 and 1 in the final.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
