No Tiger Woods and no Rory McIlroy in the field is proving no problem in Houston , where record numbers have descended on the small suburb of Humble for the Shell Houston Open . The last tournament before the Masters is proving quite a show-stopper itself thanks to the crowd-pleasing antics of the popular Phil Mickelson and local boy Jordan Spieth . It ’ s 18 months now since Spieth attracted criticism for giving up on university and joining the PGA Tour as the 809th ranked player in the world . Spieth , only 21 , has since risen to number four in the world . Funnily enough , no-one ’ s criticising him anymore . Spectators have flocked to see Texas local boy Jordan Spieth in action at the Shell Houston Open . Spieth 's fellow American Phil Mickelson has also impressed in the run up to the Masters . In seven starts this season Spieth , who finished runner-up on his Masters debut last year , has finished outside the top seven only twice , and here a second-round 66 lifted him to within three shots of the leader , Andrew Putnam . As for Mickelson , he ’ d hardly played a decent shot this year before posting rounds of 66 and 67 to be one stroke behind at halfway . The stage was set beautifully , therefore , for the two Americans at opposite ends of their careers . Englishmen Justin Rose and Paul Casey were also going well at five shots off the pace .
Record numbers have flocked to see local boy Jordan Spieth in action . The U.S. Open is the biggest golf tournament of the year and has been a major draw for years with its star-studded field. Texas-born Spieth quit university in order to concentrate on golf career .