There’s so little to say about Tiger Woods that hasn’t already been said. Another back surgery — his fourth in four years — another spell on the sidelines, another shot to the heart for golf fans around the world. It truly is an ugly and unworthy end to what was a transcendent career.

USA TODAY has the story:

“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” Woods said in a statement. “When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long.”

What now? More of the same, really. We won’t be seeing Tiger for some time. Many think we’ve seen the last of him once and for all, but I don’t think that’s true. Tiger will come back and play — well, he’ll try to, at least — largely because there’s no real point to actually retiring.

It’s not like in team sports, where teams collectively decide when your career in over. This is golf, a sport where an aging legend can skip every tournament for three years if he wants to, return and play terribly for a few months, then take another two years off. You don’t have that luxury in team sports.

Kinda telling that "play professional golf" is listed 3rd in TW's quote. Normal life 1st, play with kids 2nd. Not wrong, just a little sad. — GC Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) April 20, 2017

Who knows when, but for that reason, Tiger will tee it up again. We’ll probably even see him at Augusta National at some point, exercising his lifetime exemption at the Masters much like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus did late into their careers, simply because he loves playing golf and he can.

But make no mistake: It has become unendingly clear that this legendary athlete’s body can no longer sustain itself over any significant period of time. You cannot win on the PGA Tour without putting in reps, and you cannot truly compete when that is your reality.

Tiger may have earned the right to never offer golf fans the kind of true closure they’ve come to desire, but his competitive golf career is, for all intents and purposes, over. Any ‘competitive’ golf from Tiger we see from here will be little more than an exhibition. A victory lap, dressed up as comeback.