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HUMBLE, Texas -- Phil Mickelson has never shied away from suspense, though its usually limited to his play. The four-time major winner, who withdrew from last weeks Texas Open after pulling a muscle in his right side, waited as long as possible to end the guessing about whether he would play this week ahead of the Masters. Mickelson finally announced his intentions to indeed play at this weeks Houston Open on Wednesday afternoon through a post on his website. The decision came after two days of "light practice" at Augusta National, where Mickelson said his side "felt sore as opposed to hurting." "I feel that to give myself the best chance at the Masters I have to play in Houston," Mickelson said. "If I thought I would injure myself further I would have withdrawn from the tournament, but the last few days have been good." Mickelson didnt play in Wednesdays pro-am, fueling speculation that he might withdraw from the tournament he won in 2011. However, tournament director Steve Timms said that had been planned for six weeks -- long before his injury. Timms said Mickelson had already agreed to take part in a sponsor dinner rather than play in the pro-am. The worlds No. 5 player helped solidify the Houston Opens spot as a preferred Masters tuneup by committing to play in 2008 and every year since. He finished 16th last year. Mickelsons return to the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston -- formerly known as Redstone Golf Club before an ownership change -- highlights a stellar field that features the winners of 34 major championships. Its a field that includes Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, among others, as well as defending champion D.A. Points. First and foremost, theyre after the winners share of the $6.4 million event -- while also using the courses slick greens and tight rough to prepare for the Masters. After a schedule change last year, the tournament is back in its normal slot. And thats just fine with McIlroy, who tied for 45th at the event last year while still in the infant stages of a club change. "Its brilliant," McIlroy said. "They get the fairway heights the same, the rough heights the same, the runoff around the greens ... Its perfect for that." McIlroy finished 19th at the Houston Open in 2009 before missing the cut a year later. The former world No. 1 was winless on the PGA Tour last year, though he has been trending upward since -- including a win over Adam Scott in the Australian Open in December. He finished second at the Honda Classic last month before tying for 25th at Doral. McIlroy took the last three weeks off leading into the Houston Open-- a big change from last year when he decided to play the Texas Open only days ahead of time. Even with Augusta National looming, McIlroy said hes fully focused on competing this week. "I think its important to finish well," McIlroy said. "I dont think theres any better way to prepare than getting yourself into contention and playing golf under pressure, because thats ultimately what you want to do next week." Points sank a 13-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to win last year, winning by one stroke over Stenson and Billy Horschel. The American hasnt finished higher than 28th this year, including missed cuts in each of his last two tournaments, but his confidence is high this week. "Knowing that Ive had success here, and its cool to be out there," Points said. "Makes you feel like, Hey, I can do that again." Mickelson tees off Thursday morning with Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley, with the threesome of Texas native Jimmy Walker, Stenson and Matt Kuchar behind them. McIlroys threesome with Dustin Johnson and Luke Donald begins in the afternoon, followed immediately by a group including Jordan Spieth, Garcia and Steve Stricker. Vapormax 97 Italia . LOUIS -- The St. Air Max 95 Donna Scontate . LA (SportsNetwork. http://www.airmaxscarpescontate.it/scarp...uomo-saldi.html. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists detailed in a report how Russian and international journalists have been harassed and prevented from covering sensitive stories in Sochi such as the abuse of migrant workers and environmental issues. Air Max 720 Italia .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. Air Max 97 Uomo Saldi .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. ZURICH, Switzerland -- Brazil has surged to ninth in the FIFA rankings after winning the Confederations Cup, rebounding from its historic low standing. The five-time World Cup winner and 2014 host had fallen to 22nd before a five-match victory streak earned the warm-up event title. Brazil could struggle to retain its position because its next competitive match is at the World Cup next June. Most high-ranked teams will play at least four more qualifying matches which score higher than friendlies in FIFAs calculations. World and European champion Spain tops the rankings despite its 3-0 beating from Brazil in the final last Sunday. Italy, third-placed at the Confederations Cup, climbs to No. 6. Uruguay rises seven to No. 12 after finishing fourth in the eight-team tournament. Germany follows Spain, and Colombia rises four to its highest-ever position of No. 3. Argentina, which drew 0-0 with Colombia in a World Cup qualifying match, and the Netherlands are fourth and fifth. Portugal and Croatia fall to seventh and eighth, resppectively.dddddddddddd Tenth-ranked Belgium reaches its highest-ever position. England drops six to No. 15, losing its top-10 status for the first time since October 2008. Ivory Coast leads African teams at No. 13, and Confederations Cup entry Nigeria falls four to No. 35. Mexico is CONCACAFs best at No. 20, a fall of three places after failing to advance from its Confederations Cup group. Canada, which didnt play in June, dropped five spots to No. 88. The United States climbs six places to No. 22 as reward for a perfect record of four wins in June, including three World Cup qualifiers and a 4-3 victory against Germany in a friendly. Japan, which also played at the Confederations Cup, leads Asia at No. 37. Irans qualification for the World Cup helped it rise 15 to No. 52. Qatar, which lost a key qualifier to Iran and has been eliminated, drops eight to No. 112. Tahiti was punished for its three heavy losses at the Confederations Cup by dropping 16 to No. 154. New Zealand heads Oceania at No. 55, up two. ' ' '