After letting everyone know that his committment to this week’s CareerBuilder Chalenge would be a last minute decision, most people thought that he would be watching from the sidelines.
Phil had undergone two sports hernia surgeries in the off season and many felt that the setting this week wasn’t the most conducive for his return as he already had additional responsibilities as the tournament-ambassador. There were also question marks over whether or not it might be too soon for him to return as he hasn’t had too much time to practice since making a full recovery from his surgeries.
The five time major champion played a practice round on Wednesday and after successfully putting his game through the paces, he confirmed afterwards that he was ready to take part in thetournament with his first round starting at 8:40 AM PST on Thursday at La Quinta Country Club.
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“I feel good and I want to play," Mickelson told the PGA Tour's media staff. "I don’t know where my game is, but I figure the only way to find out is to play.”
Mickelson’s two operations came on Oct. 19 and Dec. 12. He began hitting balls for the first time on Jan. 12 in anticipation of his return. His last tour start came in October at the Safeway Open where he finished T-8.
Mickelson is also slated to play next week at the Farmers Insurance Open where Tiger Woods will also make his first official Tour start of the 2017 season.
