SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Phil Mickelson is going ahead with his Phoenix Open title defence after testing his ailing lower back on Wednesday at exclusive Whisper Rock. "I had a good practice session, though I didnt go full speed for much of it," Mickelson said in a statement. "I feel fine. I expect to play and play well." He first felt soreness two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, and then withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on Friday after making the cut at Torrey Pines. He flew to Georgia to see back specialist Tom Boers and was told his facet joints locked up. Last year at TPC Scottsdale, the former Arizona State star opened with an 11-under 60 and matched the Phoenix Open record of 28 under. He was set to make his 25th start in the event that he also won in 1996 and 2005. Mickelson lived in the Phoenix area for 12 years. "If it was any other tournament Id skip it," Mickelson said this week. "But Im defending, its my second hometown and I love the event." Lefty also said he expects to play next week at Pebble Beach, where hes a five-time champion. He is skipping Riviera and the Match Play Championship because his oldest daughter has spring break a week earlier than his other two children. On Thursday at TPC Scottsdale, the 43-year-old Mickelson was scheduled to open play on the 10th tee in a morning group with Bill Haas and Ryan Moore. While Mickelson now lives near his hometown of San Diego, Torrey Pines winner Scott Stallings is setting up a winter base in Scottsdale. He also is joining Whisper Rock, the club where Mickelson and other tour players are members. "My wife and I are renting in Scottsdale at Grayhawk, so we are five minutes away from here," Stallings said. "I have been playing and practicing out of here, actually also at Whisper Rock -- went through the whole process and we are going to make somewhat of a winter home out here. Especially, with the vile weather thats been in the South, I dont miss that at all. We miss our families, but I dont miss that weather at all." Stallings won Sunday in San Diego for his third tour title. "That venue and that event was very special and a huge stepping stone in my career," he said. Stallings is getting over an illness that also hit his wife and son. "Honestly, if you asked me yesterday, Id say there is no way Im playing in the tournament," he said. "The Mayo Clinic and the tournament got me hooked up with some good doctors and nurses, all kind of IVs and fluid and stuff like that. Im a completely different person than I was yesterday." Patrick Reed is coming off a victory two weeks ago in California in the Humana Challenge. Riding a self-described "putting coma" at La Quinta, Reed opened with three straight 9-under 63s and closed with a 71 for a two-stroke victory. "The greens, when I first saw them, there were a couple brown spots on them, and I thought that meant it was going to be not rolling very true, but I didnt see any putts really hop," Reed said about TPC Scottsdale. "Whenever you have greens like that that are just really pure, just like they were at Humana, Im excited." Lee Westwood is making his first start in the event. He also played last week at Torrey Pines, in part because of the tours new wraparound schedule. "Normally, I would go play the Middle East swing. I would go and play Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Dubai or two of those three," the Englishman said. "I decided not to go this year and wanted to play a few more events in the States. "If you dont play these, then youre giving up a big start, because they have played six before the season, so it started last year. So its like a quarter of the schedule gone if you dont start until Pebble or L.A., so it makes sense to play a couple of these." Mickelsons decision to play cost Ryo Ishikawa a spot in the field. The Japanese player tied for seventh last week at Torrey Pines, but didnt get into the Phoenix Open as a top-10 finisher because the field was full before that entry category. Charley Lau White Sox Jersey .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Ian Hamilton Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/1244e-cars...-white-sox.html. Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Jose Ruiz White Sox Jersey . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. Goose Gossage White Sox Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad.PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. Woods was 5-over par for the final round -- 12 shots behind Rory McIlroy at the time -- when he shook hands with Luke Guthrie on the 13th green and told him he was done. It was the farthest point at PGA National, and the tournament sent a van to collect Woods and his family. Police kept the media from the parking lot. "He just came over and said, I cant go anymore. It was a pleasure playing with you," said Luke Guthrie, paired with Woods the last two days. "I just said, Take it easy. Feel better. Pretty uneventful." But the speculation over his future figures to be a big buzz leading to the Masters next month. Woods said through spokesman Glenn Greenspan it was a lower back problem that had started Sunday morning as he was warming up. He was to defend his title next week in the Cadillac Championship. "Too early to tell," Woods said in a statement about playing next week at Doral. "Ill get treatment every day to try to calm it down. Just dont know yet. Wait until Thursday and see how it feels." Woods already has played a limited schedule this year -- 10 complete rounds. He was to play twice more before the Masters on April 10-13. Woods said the spasms were similar to what he felt last August at The Barclays, where he dropped to his knees after hitting one shot. Woods finished that tournament in a tie for second, one shot behind Adam Scott. It was the second time in two years that Woods has walked off the course in the middle of the final round. He quit after 11 holes at Doral when he was well out of contention -- and then won Bay Hill two weeks later for his first PGA Tour title since his return from the chaos in his personal life. Guthrie said he could tell early on in the round that something was not right with Woods. "He made a couple of uncharacteristic shots -- the first on 3 kind of was the first one," Guthrie said. "I didnt know if he wasnt feeling the greatest, and it kind of seemed like he might have been protecting -- came up and out of it. I didnt think much of it until maybe 11. I noticed he was bending down gingerly. "He didnt mention it to me," Guthrie said. "Obviously, he wasnt playing the ggreatest.dddddddddddd I wasnt playing the greatest. He was battling out there. Its not like he was throwing in the towel. He was still trying." Woods started the final round seven shots out of the lead and was out of the tournament quickly. He muffed a tough chip in the rough on No. 2, and then took double bogey on the easy par-5 third hole with a drive that found the water hazard left of the sixth green. He bogeyed the fourth from behind the green, and then put his tee shot into the water on No. 6 and had to scramble to save bogey. Woods had said earlier this year in Dubai that he spent the majority of his off-season working on his physical strength, at the expense of neglecting his game. He opened the year by missing the 54-hole cut at Torrey Pines (where he is an eight-time winner), and then tying for 41st in the Dubai Desert Classic. The Honda Classic was his first tournament in a month, and he didnt make it to the finish line. "If youre hurting, youre hurting," Guthrie said. "You dont need to risk injuring yourself even more. Hes had his share of problems with injuries. Theres no reason for him to chance it if hes really hurting." This was the fourth time Woods has withdrawn from a tournament since returning from the chaos in his personal life at the end of 2009. He withdrew from The Players Championship in consecutive years, once in the final round because of a bulging disk, and then after nine holes in 2011 with a leg injury. He left in the final round at Doral in 2012 because of tightness in his Achilles tendon. Two years ago at Doral, Woods was driven in a cart to the parking lot, and NBC Sports showed footage of his Mercedes-Benz driving out of the Miami resort toward his home about an hour north in Jupiter. This time, police blocked the media from entering the players parking lot. Woods was seen getting out of a white passenger van with his mother and other members of his group. It was the second time the No. 1 player in the world walked out in the middle of the Honda Classic. A year ago, McIlroy quit after 26 holes because of what he said was a sore wisdom tooth. He later said the frustration of a poor start to the year got the best of him. By withdrawing in the middle of the round, Woods is ineligible to win the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average for having an incomplete round. Woods has won the award a record nine times. ' ' '