Golf living legend Tiger Woods has apologized for a prank involving a tampon that went viral for reasons he likely didn’t envision.
“Yeah, it was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods told reporters on Friday following his second round of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club, per ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. “If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun.”
Woods outdrove playing partner Justin Thomas on the ninth hole during the first round of the tournament on Thursday and then attempted to slyly hand Thomas a tampon. Cameras caught the exchange, though, and individuals such as Schlabach and Brian Wacker of the New York Post pointed out that some blasted Woods for what they deemed to be a sexist action.
Former professional golfer and online influencer Paige Spiranac was among those who defended Woods for something she found to be “funny.”
“As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry,” Woods continued during his Friday comments. “It was not intended to be that way. It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it was — it’s different.”
Schlabach noted in a different piece that Woods made his return to the PGA Tour circuit after having not competed in an official event since July 2022. He finished with a 36-hole total of 1-over par and was in danger of missing the cut as of Friday afternoon.
