Phil Mickelson Will Return to PGA Tour at Bridgestone in Early August

Phil Mickelson, for all the jokes made at his expense, deserves a ton of fan support and general love for the recent stretch he's endured. First his wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately following the news that she was healing well, Mickelson learned that his mother had breast cancer as well.

In other words, not a good run for anyone. So it's fantastic to hear that Mickelson will be returning to the PGA Tour soon -- the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, to be specific.

Mickelson's return is a pretty clear statement of how badly he wants to win the PGA Championship as well (see: Tiger Woods' similar return in time for the Masters.)

Lefty obviously took the multiple familial news hard (especially coupled with the not-nearly-as-important-but-still-somewhat-devastating second place finish during the US Open at Bethpage Black) and given the emotional state of the fans in New York, you can expect him to be one of the biggest crowd favorites -- along with Woods, who is expected to join the field soon -- in Akron for his return.

That's not to say he has to win either the Bridgestone or the PGA, but, as much as anyone can actually want something more than another human being, I would say that Phil has his eyes firmly set on Hazeltine.