Mickelson Has Surgery, Doubt Whether He'll Return Next Month

BY ESPN

Phil Mickelson had surgery to repair a recurrence of the sports hernia for which he was originally treated in October, which puts in doubt his scheduled return to competitive golf next month at the CareerBuilder Challenge, where he is serving as tournament ambassador.

Mickelson's management group, Lagadere Sports, announced the surgery Monday night but did not say when it occurred, only that a full recovery is expected and he was looking forward to the CareerBuilder tournament near Palm Springs, California, "at least in his role as tournament ambassador.'' The tournament is Jan. 19-22.

The event traditionally kicks off a run of events for Mickelson, 46, that would include the Farmers Insurance Open in his hometown of San Diego followed by the Waste Management Phoenix Open in consecutive weeks.

Mickelson's most recent tournament ended with a tie for eighth at the Safeway Open on Oct. 16. Three days later, he had the sports hernia surgery, which he had noted months earlier as something he was planning on having done immediately after he was finished playing for the year. (Mickelson's long-time caddie, Jim Mackay, had both of his knees replaced the same day as Mickelson's hernia surgery.)

The 42-time PGA Tour winner has not won since the 2013 Open, the last of his five major titles. He finished runner-up to Henrik Stenson this year in the same tournament at Royal Troon.