Phil Mickelson to Skip WGC Accenture Match Play: Newest Hall of Famer Opts out

Phil Mickelson, currently ranked No. 15 on the Official World Golf Ranking, announced that he will not play in the WGC Accenture Match Play held at Dove Mountain in Arizona between February 22-26.

The WGC Accenture invites only the top 64 players in the world and boasts an $8.5 million purse. It will survive without Phil’s illustrious presence.

Sky Sports has reported that Mickelson will take his family on a holiday, as his children are on spring break the week of the match play event.

Mickelson has never won the elite match play event and his best finish was reaching the quarterfinals in 2004.

It should also be noted Mickelson gets a hall pass for missing the WGC Accenture.  He added the Humana Challenge to his 2012 schedule and helped pump up a new event that drastically needed all the hype it could get.

Mickelson did not play particularly well at La Quinta.  He opened with a 74 but followed up with rounds of 69-64 to make the cut on the number.  He carded a 69 on Sunday to post -10 under par T-49 for the tournament.

He is also expected to play this week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines while Tiger Woods collects a nice appearance fee and opens his 2012 season in Abu Dhabi.

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