Weir considering more time off

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 11 (UPI) -- Masters champion Mike Weir said Sunday he will likely to withdraw from the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, which is scheduled to begin Thursday in suburban Dallas.

After shooting 69 to finish with a 4-under-par 284 at the Wachovia Championship, Weir said he was ready to take two weeks off.

"The last three weeks I hardly worked on my game," said Weir, who made the tournament in Charlotte his first since winning the Masters. "I need to get with my coach and work on a few things with my putting and my swing. I may take a little time off and then play three in a row leading into the U.S. Open."

That means Weir may add the Capital Open in Washington to his schedule the week before the U.S. Open next month.

"It worked well playing three weeks in a row leading into the Masters," he said. "If I break it up, maybe it'll disrupt my rhythm."

Weir's likely absence from the Byron Nelson means the event, which traditionally boasts one of the strongest fields of the year, will be without four of the world's top five players. Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Davis Love will also be missing.

World No. 4 Phil Mickelson will be the highest-ranked player in the field at the Las Colinas TPC in Irving.

Weir did not have much luck on the greens on Sunday, lipping out what he estimated to be five or six times.

"It could have been a 61 or 62," he said. "I'm putting horrible, although I can't blame it too much on my putting, because these greens are very complex. I didn't read the greens well but it sounds like a lot of guys are in the same boat."

It was a far cry from his performance at the Masters, where he hardly missed anything all week.