Mystery now surrounds the decision of Sergio Garcia to play in Majorca in two weeks’ time rather than in the HSBC World Match Play championship.
The 16-man Wentworth event has a first prize of £1m (€1.47m), the biggest in golf, but Garcia said today it was “too risky” for him to play there.
Asked to explain the Spaniard, one of the stars of Europe’s Ryder Cup win, commented: “It’s just a couple of things outside of golf that don’t allow me to.
“It’s contract things and other stuff. Nothing you want to know about – not worth talking about. It’s my problem, not yours.”
The organisers of the Match Play are still trying to complete their field. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love, Justin Leonard, Chris DiMarco and Shigeki Maruyama have all turned down their invitations as well.
Four places have still to be filled alongside Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Todd Hamilton, Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood, Scott Drummond, Thomas Levet, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir, KJ Choi and Jeff Maggert.