Tiger Woods issues apology for tampon incident with Justin Thomas and says ‘it was supposed to be all fun and games’ | Golf News

Tiger Woods criticized after giving Justin Thomas a tampon on the ninth hole during the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles; The incident was described as “crass” and “disappointing” by Sarah Stirk.

Tiger Woods has apologized after being criticized for giving Justin Thomas a tampon during the first round of the Genesis Invitational on Thursday.

Woods returned to competitive golf for the first time in seven months alongside Thomas and Rory McIlroy at the Riviera Country Club.

The 47-year-old was able to outdrive two of his young opponents on occasion at the Los Angeles Course, and in the ninth hole, Woods hit more than Thomas and then handed over a tampon when the pair walked to the second shot.

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After a drive on the ninth hole, Tiger Woods’ shot landed more than opponent Justin Thomas’, with Woods then handing Thomas a tampon as he walked down the fairway.

Thomas, world number 7, picked up the tampon before dropping it on the floor, after which the pair could be seen laughing and embracing.

Woods said after Friday’s second round: “Well, it’s supposed to be all fun and games and obviously that’s not the case.

“If I offended anyone, it’s not like that, it’s just friends having fun. Like I said, if I offended anyone in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It wasn’t intended.

“It’s just, we play pranks every time and virally, I think it’s not a way, but between us it’s different.”

Koyack: I saw some people having fun and having fun with friends

During live coverage of the Genesis Invitational on Sky Sports Golf, Henni Koyack said Woods “respects female athletes and women in sports”.

“There are some incredible and much-needed conversations about women’s sports and culture. I consider myself a feminist and will do everything to fight for women’s sports. Having said that, my personal opinion on this, when I watched the clip, I saw people like- happy and having fun with his friends,” he said.

“I know from Tiger, what he misses the most is the locker room environment. I might be biased because he’s my best friend. I’m one of them, if it’s not for you, it’s okay.

“It’s humor and he’s having fun on the golf course. We can only judge people by what they do. I believe he respects female athletes and women in sports. I see it as a rude joke.”

Walker: They should know better

Woods’ actions have drawn criticism from others, including from Sky Sports’ Sarah Stirk who described the incident as “crass” and “disappointing”.

“I think that’s not what we want to show in the world of sports. It’s crass, disappointing and I’m surprised from my side because he plays in Genesis on the PGA Tour. It’s a tournament that hosts,” he told Sky Sports News.

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Sarah Stirk, Sophie Walker and Dame Laura Davies react to Tiger Woods giving Justin Thomas a tampon during the opening round of the Genesis Invitational on Thursday.

Former golfer Sophie Walker said it was “very poor” by Woods, adding: “What disappointed me more was that it was not only a pointless thing, but it was planned because I’m sure he didn’t know. Don’t bring tampons on him normally.

“He is the leader of our game, no matter what happens all eyes are on Tiger Woods. He should know better, and he made a mistake, and he should apologize.”

But Dame Laura Davies played it down, describing it as “loud” and a misplaced joke.

During round two, Woods shot a three-over-par 74, leaving him one-over par overall.

Asked about his round, Woods said: “I wasn’t very good today, I blocked a lot of putts early and that was probably the highest score I could have taken today.

“Just don’t make putts in the beginning and the middle part of the round when I have that opportunity. And they don’t putts very hard, I just hit bad putts and obviously it’s done very badly.

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