Phil Mickelson is in the field for the Houston Open

Phil Mickelson is in the field for the Houston Open

Phil Mickelson is in the field for the Houston Open, which begins today, but don't expect to see his name near the top of the leaderboard. Mickelson, above, is playing because he prefers to compete the week before a major — the Masters is next week — but given his disdain for the works of Rees Jones, who designed tournament host Redstone Golf Club, he said he will play shots that might not make a lot of sense, just to get ready for Augusta National. "Houston is not going to set up well for me," Mickelson said last week. His biggest complaint is the fairways narrow after about 285 yards off the tee, which tends to limit power players to a 3-wood off the tee. Mickelson plans to use a driver anyway. "I'm just not going to hit 3-woods off the tee and play that course strategically the week before Augusta," he said.