Paul Casey has ruled out a return to action at next week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship after deciding he needs an extra week of recovery time for a shoulder injury sustained during the winter break.
The Englishman, ranked 23rd in the world, had initially identified the following week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship in Doral, Florida, as the proposed date for a return to the course after dislocating his right shoulder while snowboarding in Colorado, however, after making excellent progress in his recovery there had been suggestions made that the comeback could be brought forward a week to incorporate the year’s first World Golf Championship being held next week at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Arizona.
Casey, aged 34, had hoped to be in contention for a return at the Match Play, having finished runner-up at the event in 2009 and 2010, but eventually decided to take the additional week’s rehabilitation and healing time.
The Ryder Cup star will be replaced by South African George Coetzee, who will be making his World Golf Championship debut in Arizona having qualified for the event as World Number 66 in the Official World Golf Ranking after storming 11 places up the ranking with a tied fifth place finish in last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The field for the WGC-Accenture Match Play is comprised of the top 64 available players in the World Ranking. Ernie Els, the World Number 65, had already accepted a place in opening WGC of 2012 following the withdrawal of America’s Phil Mickelson.
