Els Will Defend Title

Ernie Els of South Africa will be seeking his fourth straight title in the World Match Play Championship in this year’s tournament, Oct. 9-12 at Virginia Water, England.

Four European and two American Ryder Cup players also were selected for the 12-man field.

The U.S. Ryder Cup players are Phil Mickelson and Brad Faxon, and the members of the European team are Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik.

Two-time defending champion Fred Couples will be joined by Masters champion Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman and Mark O’Meara in the field for the 1997 Skins Games.

Couples will be making his sixth appearance in the event, to be played Nov. 29-30 at the Rancho La Quinta (Calif.) Country Club.