Kim out of biggest matchup

Ernie Els has changed his mind and will play in the Accenture Match Play Championship next week in Arizona.

Els, No. 4 in the world rankings, wrote on his website that he would make his U.S. debut at the Honda Classic in Florida, but he officially entered the 64-player match play tournament Thursday.

His entry knocked Anthony Kim out of the field and out of a possible matchup with Tiger Woods.

“What can you do?” Kim said after shooting 73 Thursday in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. “I don’t deserve to go there. The guys that played well deserve to be there. I gave it all I had, but it wasn’t good enough.”

Kim, ranked 66th in the world, said the most disappointing part is that he has never played with Woods.

“You hear so much about him and obviously he is what everyone says he is,” Kim said. “Having a chance to go head-to-head with him, I would have learned what it takes to be the best player in the world.”

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Northern Trust took over as title sponsor this year, replacing Nissan, but Vaughn Taylor said it hasn’t made too much of a difference, except for maybe on the 14th hole.

“There’s not any Nissans on the par-three for Rich Beem to jump up on,” Taylor said.

Last year Beem won a Nissan for making a hole in one on the 14th and celebrated by climbing onto the roof of the car, which was sitting near the tee.

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D.J. Gregory doesn’t have his PGA Tour card, but he’ll be walking every round at every course on tour this year.

Gregory, 30, who has cerebral palsy and needs a cane to walk, is a golf fanatic and is fulfilling a lifelong dream.

“I will do anything to make it through every round on the PGA Tour this year,” Gregory said.

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It’s not too early to start thinking about the Masters, which is already on Padraig Harrington’s radar. He opened with a two-under 69 and said he’s trying to play enough tournaments to be ready for Augusta National in April.

“For me, it’s not like a light switch, I have to build my way into it,” the British Open champion said. “It’s just a little bit of playing a little more and be a little bit more in control of my game.”

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David Duval, who was seven over after 11 holes, pulled out because of a neck injury. Nick O’Hern also pulled out because of illness after nine holes.

Times staff writer Thomas Bonk contributed to this report.

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