Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas, sharing the tee at the Genesis Invitational of golf. (Getty Images – AFP)
Golf star Tiger Woods apologized Friday for the prank he played on his playing partner and friend Justin Thomas the day before, giving him a tampon during his return to the PGA Tour.
Source: AFP
woods47, handed the hygiene product in hand to Thomas just after teeing off the ninth hole of the Genesis Invitational, a tournament he also hosts with his charity.
A surprised Thomas, the Woods’s best friend on the circuithe immediately dropped the product onto the grass as Tiger laughed beside him and hugged him as they both walked towards the hole.
Although Woods tried to keep it as low-key as possible, the attempted prank was recorded by the cameras and in the last hours he received numerous reactions on social networks, where many Internet users considered a sexist act.
“It was all supposed to be fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way. If I offended someone, it wasn’t the case, they were just friends having fun.“Woods said this Friday at the end of the second round at the Riviera Country Club, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
“If I have offended anyone in any way, I’m sorry.“, he assured. “That was not my intention. It’s just that we joke with each other all the time and I think that virally it was not understood like that, but between us it is different.
Woods, who is dosing his appearances to the maximum due to the physical consequences of his 2021 car accident, had not competed in an official PGA tournament since the British Open in July.
The episode aroused some criticism of the Californian from the media.
“Really, Tiger,” wrote the columnist for usa today Christine Brennan in lambasting the “immature” incident.
“Woods’ message to Thomas was obvious. It’s been the go-to phrase for dumb and often insecure boys for generations: You play like a girl,” Brennan snapped.
Reaction to the episode on social media was more mixed.
“You can call me ‘offended’ or whatever, but giving another golfer a tampon is not funny,” cried one user on Twitter while another called the criticism “manufactured anger” and many simply found the episode funny.
Finished the tour on Thursday, Woods said he had enjoyed sharing the day with Thomas and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
“It was a great round,” he stressed. “We prod each other, cheer each other on, and tell stories.”
“Since I hadn’t been here, I’ve missed some of the things that have happened on the circuit,” he said.
