Phil Mickelson 'all fixed up' after sports hernia surgery in October

One of the United States' Ryder Cup heroes is recovering nicely from a recent procedure.

In a surprise revelation this week, five-time major winner Phil Mickelson underwent sports hernia surgery after the Safeway Open in October, an unannounced procedure that was unveiled by Golf Digest's Tim Rosaforte this week.

"It wasn't an outie belly button per se, it just looked like it," Mickelson told Golf Digest. "It was a walnut-sized hernia behind my belly button. 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."

He also noted that he's "all fixed up."

Mickelson had previously gone on about the quality of his health at the age of 46. It is a theme he has put forth all year.

"The fact is that, from 10 years ago when I was playing my best golf, I'm 25 pounds lighter," said Mickelson this summer. "I'm in better shape, I'm physically stronger than I was. I feel better and ... now that my swing is back on plane, I'm starting to hit some shots like I did ten years ago and starting to play some of my best golf again. So I don't see why there's any reason why I can't continue that not just this week but for years. That's kind of what the game plan is."

Mickelson's belly button should be fine for 2017 as he tries to continue his somewhat surprising assault on the record books even as he hurtles towards age 50 and the PGA Tour Champions.

We will not see Mickelson on the golf course for the rest of 2016.

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Phil Mickelson ready to prove his doubters wrong

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Phil Mickelson needs to finish at least third in the BMW Championship to book travel to Atlanta for next week’s FedExCup Playoffs-ending Tour Championship by Coca-Cola.

While the odds are long — he hasn’t won since the2013 British Open and has just three top-10s this year — Mickelson’s in good spirits heading into Thursday’s start of the BMW at Conway Farms Golf Club. In large part because he knows he’s going on a long voyage to South Korea for the Presidents Cup after Jay Haas used one of his two captain’s picks on the member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

While it was a controversial pick considering his form the past 18 months, Mickelson, who was 29th in the Presidents Cup standings, is more than ready to prove his detractors wrong.

He is off at 1:15 p.m. ET with Keegan Bradley and Fabian Gomez.

Mickelson, 45, has played on every Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team since 1994. Haas’ selection marked just the second time he was a captain’s pick.

“This is the most excited I've been this late in the year because I'm looking forward to being on the team,” said Mickelson, who is ranked 23rd in the world and stands 61st on the FedExCup. “It's meant a lot to me to be a part of that team, and I want to play well and I want to get some momentum. Also, it gave me a little bit of a boost, and my game feels like it's been coming around and feels fairly sharp, so we'll see. But I'm more excited to be playing right now than I have at any time at this point in quite a few years.”