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Sergio Garcia to skip Match Play Championship

Sergio Garcia will skip the Match Play Championship in two weeks, the fourth straight year that the tournament will be missing a top-ranked player.

Garcia said at the Buick Invitational that he might not play in the first World Golf Championship of the year, citing a travel schedule that took him from Hawaii to Abu Dhabi to San Diego in the first four weeks of the season.

Clarke Jones, his agent at IMG, cited scheduling Tuesday as the reason for Garcia not playing. He said the 26-year-old Spaniard would play the following week at Doral.

Garcia is No. 6 in the world. Ernie Els did not go to La Costa for the Accenture Match Play Championship the last two years, while Vijay Singh missed in 2003 because of a rib injury.

The 64-man field will be determined Monday by the world ranking. With Garcia not playing, the final spot will go to whomever is ranked No. 65.

February 8, 2006