Walker withdraws from Houston

Houston - American Jimmy Walker, whose victory last weekend at the Texas Open boosted him to a career-best 10th in the world rankings, withdrew from the PGA Houston Open on Tuesday.

Walker became the first player to win twice on the US circuit this season with his hometown triumph at San Antonio after taking the Sony Open in Hawaii in Janaury.

But after a two-day trip to Augusta National to practice for next week's Masters, Walker announced he was pulling out in order to be ready to play next week's first major of the year at Augusta National.

"I went to Augusta in order to prepare for the Masters," Walker said. "Unfortunately, I soon realized that I was not feeling well and needed to get better before next week. I look forward to returning to Houston in future years."

Walker finished eighth equal last year on his Masters debut and followed with two other top-10 finishes in the majors, joint ninth at the US Open and a share of seventh at the PGA Championship.