Will Lefty Opt out of Match Play Championship?


Set to make his PGA Tour debut this week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Phil Mickelson said he's "50-50" on whether or not he'll play in the Accenture Match Play Championship next month due to family commitments.

Featuring the top 64 players on the planet, the World Golf Championship event will take place February 21-27 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Ariz. Mickelson has played in the tournament since its inception in 1999.

"Right now, I may end up playing and I may not, and it will depend on some out-of-school stuff that could prohibit us actually going on a family vacation, which is what we did last year," he told reporters.

"Tucson is one of my favorite places to play and the Match Play is one of my favorite tournaments to compete in, but with the kids having a week off school I would say I am 50-50 right now whether I do play."

The reigning Masters' champion is in his hometown of San Diego preparing to tee it up Thursday in the former Buick Open. Earlier in the week he flew to Southern California from the Middle East after playing in last week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where he finished 37th at 5-under par in the 148-man European Tour event.

Mickelson is excited to be back in the States and looking forward to more competitive rounds to round his game into shape. "This has been a good week for me given that I haven't played in the last two months and I was a little bit rusty," he said.

"It has given me the chance to see where I was performing well and where I was weak. The first three days my short game were very poor so that's an area I need to focus on and get sharper in the coming weeks."

Mickelson is expected to make a decision soon on entering the WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship.