Phil Mickelson had surgery to repair a recurrence of the sports hernia for which he was originally treated in October, putting 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 that he was looking forward to the CareerBuilder tournament near Palm Springs, Calif., "at least in his role as tournament ambassador.'' The tournament is Jan. 19-22.
That 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.