Phil Mickelson has Strong Return in CareerBuilder Challenge

A lot of popular golfers have been shut down for a while due to health concerns. Phil Mickelson was among that group for the past few months, as he was out of commission after undergoing two sports hernia surgeries in the past four months. Despite limited competition in that time, Mickelson came back looking just as good as before.

Lefty took the tee this morning in La Quinta, CA and his first tee shot made many people question if he was ready to return to the game. Mickelson hit the ball so poorly that he hit a second provisional shot in case he couldn’t find his original ball. Despite that poor start, Phil was able to scramble to save par and allow his round to take off.

Following the rocky start at the first, Mickelson took off on the front nine, birdieing four of the next eight holes. While he tore up the front nine with his game, Lefty was more consistent on the back of the course, staying par the entire nine holes except for one bogey and one birdie. That gave Mickelson a 4-under-par 68 in his return.

Mickelson was happy with how well his round went, stating, “I thought it was phenomenal.” Phil also acknowledged how much it meant to be back on the course after being held out. He said after his round that, “In the last three months, I haven’t been able to do much, but the last two weeks I’ve been able to work out, been practicing for a week, game is rusty, but body feels good.”

It appears Phil Mickelson is rocking a logo this year representing his 2004 Masters leap on the 18th green (via @GettyImages) pic.twitter.com/mz7OpPNHms

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) January 19, 2017

Mickelson also unveiled a new logo, featuring his celebratory leap on the 18th green when he won the 2004 Masters. Hopefully, with full health and the memory of that winning leap on his chest, Mickelson will continue to have success for the rest of the CareerBuilder Challenge and other tournaments down the road.

Cover Photo via Flickr