Golf: Campbell earns spot in Match Play Championship

LOS ANGELES Andrews native Chad Campbell’s finish Sunday in the Northern Trust Open earned him a spot in the $8.5 million Accenture Match Play Championship, which is scheduled to start Feb. 17 at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz.

Campbell finished in a 37th-place tie at Riviera at 3-under 281, which moved his spot in the World Golf Ranking to No. 63.

That officially gave Campbell a spot in next week’s 64-player field since Sunday was the cutoff for players to qualify based on the world ranking.

Kevin Na and Scott Verplank also qualified with their finishes in the Northern Trust Open.

Tiger Woods, who announced his indefinite break Dec. 11 to try to salvage his marriage from his extramarital affairs, is not expected to play in the Match Play Championship.

Phil Mickelson, who slipped to No. 3 in the world Sunday, had already said he would not play this year because of a family vacation that had been postponed because of his wife’s breast cancer.

“I figured Tiger and Phil would probably not play, so I had some room to spare,” Campbell said. “But I definitely wanted to get in.”

Campbell last played the Match Play Championship two years ago, making it to the semifinals.

Players have until Friday to officially declare they are playing.