Tiger Woods Injury: Updates on Golf Star's Back and Recovery

Tiger Woods underwent surgery on his back and missed a good chunk of the 2013-14 PGA Tour season. In his third start since returning to competition, Woods withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with a back injury.

That didn't stop Woods from teeing it up less than a week later at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.    

Woods eventually decided to shut his season down, and Brian Wacker of PGATour.com and Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker passed along the updates Monday:

For whatever reason, Woods has been prone to nagging injuries that don't seem to go away, particularly in recent years. 

One positive sign came when Woods said the day before the PGA in Louisville, Kentucky, that his latest back problem was in a different spot than where he was operated on, per Golf Channel's Jason Sobel:

As banged up as Woods has been and in spite of the fact he hasn't won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, he has had several close calls in recent years.

Even when he's at less than his best, Woods has been competitive, as Justin Ray of Golf Channel points out:

Woods is turning 39 in December and must look out for his best long-term interests moving forward. If that means sitting out as long as a season, so be it. The reality is he's a precious, rare talent, has plenty of firepower and is fully capable of winning far more tournaments if he can just stay healthy. That's proving far easier said than done, but it may have to do with Woods endangering himself.

Questions will linger about the short-term and longer-ranging ramifications of Woods' latest setback. Those close to him must advise Woods to properly recuperate before he can set realistic goals to win on the PGA Tour.

Young talents like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth have plenty of energy at the moment. There is also so much depth and a number of prominent golfers such as Adam Scott entering their primes. Woods can't overexert himself to try to win now if his body won't hold up.

It's better for Woods to recover fully now than to potentially cut his playing days short by playing through too much pain.