Phil Mickelson Underwent a Second Sports Hernia Surgery, Unclear When He'll Return

Phil Mickelson, who at the age of 46 put on one of the greatest golf performances ever at the 2016 Open Championship along with Henrik Stenson, recently underwent a second sports hernia surgery.

Mickelson underwent surgery on October 19th to fix the same issue which he said caused him no pain but was an annoyance while playing.

"“It was a walnut-sized hernia behind my belly button,” Mickelson told Golf World in November. “It was no big deal, nor did it affect me when I played. I pushed it back in every minute or so. I couldn’t work out as intensely as I wanted to, that’s all. It didn’t hurt or affect me. It was just annoying.”"

Lefty was out for two months after the initial surgery, and according to his reps there is no time table for his return to the sport.

According to Ryan Ballengee of Yahoo Sports, this will put Mickelson’s early-season appearances in jeopardy as he usually starts the season around the CareerBuilder Challenge which begins on January 19th.  Mickelson is the tournament’s ambassador.

Hopefully he makes a speedy recovery because he is one of the most entertaining golfers in the field. With Tiger Woods making his return this season, it sure would be nice to see the two at the top of a leaderboard or two on the same weekend. At the same time, Mickelson’s getting up there in age and rushing back from any injury could cause more problems in the future.