Tiger Woods Injury: Latest News and Comments on Star's Recovery

As the rest of the world readies itself for the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland, the player with arguably the best chance of leading the United States to victory sits at home. 

Tiger Woods, whose 2014 campaign has been washed away due to an ongoing back issue, withdrew his name from captain's pick consideration last month—not that he was a guarantee to be selected in the first place.

Woods did not win an event on the PGA calendar, and his best finish in a major was 69th at The Open Championship. He was cut from this year's PGA Championship, marking the second time in four years Woods has faced that indignity. The winless season was Woods' third in the past half-decade, and his struggles in 2014 have led to numerous people wondering if the United States is better off without him this weekend.

Woods' former swing coach, Butch Harmon, recently told The Independent:

"

Well, the last time they won [2008 in Kentucky], Tiger wasn’t on the team. They’re stronger without Tiger the way he’s playing because he hasn’t played well. Obviously, physically he couldn’t play anyway. But yeah, I don’t think they lose anything by not having him because, at this point in time, he’s not the Tiger Woods that we remember.

"

Harmon has a point. Woods is 13-17-3 in his Ryder Cup career, far below expectations of arguably the best player in history. His game has lent itself better to the longer stroke play format throughout his career, and it's always an interesting dynamic for captains to pick players who mesh well with his personality.

In 2012, Woods was actually benched for a session by U.S. captain Davis Love III. 

Still, Ryder Cup appearance or not, Woods' return to the sport remains a storyline percolating underneath any major event. Woods has not played competitively since his early exit at the PGA. At Valhalla, the back injury cropped up numerous times, with the 14-time major champion nearly doubling over in pain at points. 

Woods returned from a microdiscectomy on his back in June, but he hasn't looked like nearly the same player. He's been cut twice, withdrawn once and had the whatever you want to call his Open Championship performance, which was his worst finish at a major in which he made the cut.

John Locher/Associated Press

Woods recently acknowledged to Doug Ferguson of The Associated Press (via Rep-Am.com) that he came back too soon, saying his conditioning was not up to par: 

"

I felt good enough to do it, and the only unfortunate part is I couldn't maintain the conditioning. I wasn't as conditioned as I needed to be. So as the tournament would wear on, I would get more and more fatigued and tired, and I wasn't as explosive. I wasn't as strong...I could lift the weights that I'm accustomed to lifting, as well as playing and practicing.

"

Though he's still barely more than a month removed from his last competitive round of golf, the latest break seems to have made a difference. Woods claims he's back to lifting at the same level he was preinjury, though he's still in the process of regaining the quickness in his swing.

"We're pretty much past the strength phase now, and I've got my strength where I want to have it," Woods said. "Now I just need to get my fast twitch going and get my speed back, and that's going to take a little bit of time. That's part of our second phase of training. And that's coming up now."

John Locher/Associated Press

Odds are we won't see Woods in competition for a good while. He's given no firm timetable for his return, but the back half of the year is usually where he ramps down his activity to prepare for the following season. The 2014-15 PGA calendar gets underway in October, but it'd be a surprise to see him before December's Hero World Challenge.

Woods recently announced a sponsorship with Hero MotoCorp for the event, which takes place Dec. 3-7 at Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Orlando. He gave no firm confirmation that he would play, but he indicated he'll begin swinging a club at some point in September.

"I'm feeling great. I've been home and with my kids a lot, and haven't swung a club yet, but I have done some shadow swings in the mirror," Woods wrote. "I'm hoping to swing a club later this month or early next, but we'll see how it goes. I got my strength back and need to get my explosiveness back before I start."

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