Snedeker to miss Match Play

Last updated: 13th February 2013

New world number four Brandt Snedeker has withdrawn from next week's Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, citing a rib injury which he picked up during last month's Humana Challenge.

The 32-year-old American is arguably the form player in the world after following two runners-up places with a win at Pebble Beach the last week and is the second highly-ranked player to withdraw from the event following Phil Mickelson, who is taking the week off to be with his family after five consecutive tournament weekends.

Snedeker will return to his home in Nashville and is scheduled to see a specialist later this week, although it is believed that a week's rest will allow him to recover sufficiently by the end of the month.

He hopes to regain his fitness in time to compete at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in three weeks' time.

"I certainly will miss competing in the Accenture Match Play Championship,' he told the official PGA website.

"I really do appreciate what Accenture does to make that one of the premier events on our schedule."

His withdrawal opens a position in the 64-man field for world number 66 Fredrik Jacobson, who initially missed out on qualification by 0.0002 world ranking points to Ireland's Shane Lowry.

'I'm really happy to be part of it now and get a chance to play a little more golf that week," he Jacobson said of his late inclusion.

"You never know how much golf you get to play, but I know I'm going to get there and play some golf."

If there are no further withdrawals, Jacobson will take on world number one McIlroy next Wednesday and 65th-ranked Lowry will tackle Tiger Woods.

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger is now on stand-by.