‘Supposed to be all fun and games’: Tiger Woods apologises for giving Justin Thomas a tampon

After a poor finish and poor putting left him flirting with the cut at one over par for the tournament yesterday (Friday), the 15-times major winner apologised for what he called a prank. Having outdriven Thomas on Thursday, Woods handed his close friend a tampon as they walked down the fairway. This was schoolboy humour from a 47-year-old, with the implication being that Thomas was striking the ball like a woman. It drew a mixed reaction. Some felt this was asinine and sexist; others that those offended lacked a sense of humour.

“It was supposed to be all fun and games and it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said after his three-over 74. “If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It’s just we play pranks on one another all the time and, virally, it did not come across that way.”

Golf was once dubbed a good walk spoilt but Woods continues to turn that particular saying on its head. His walking is bad but his game can still be restorative with some deft irons and magic moments mixed with the mediocrity. Yet as he made his way to his disappointing outcome, Woods had sparked a different kind of debate.

In truth, the stoically angry men of Twitter are probably not best placed to decide what women should find funny. Sarah Stirk, the Sky Sports presenter, had said earlier: “We want women’s sport to be on a level playing field with men and this incident was extremely disappointing. It was crass, to be honest.” She called it laddish and said the clear inference was “women are inferior to men”.

Anna Caplice, the Ireland rugby player, tweeted: “If the world generally respected women I would be able to see the funny side of this. But it doesn’t. So I don’t.” Patricia Duffy Fiske, a Golf Channel editor, said: “These types of jokes are laughed off but further a misogynistic narrative that women are fighting against today.”

It will be two years next week since Woods rolled his car and nearly lost his right leg. Until this week he had played nine competitive rounds in the interim. He opened his PGA Tour return with a two-under-par 69 on Thursday and although his fans can make feasts from crumbs, the second circuit offered hope as well as hype. The fluffed opportunities and stumble to the line ultimately meant it looked worse than it was. “I did not putt well today,” he said. “I blocked a lot of putts early and this is the highest score I could have shot today, I should have shot five or six better easily.”

The promise of the first day segued into a new question. Yes, he still has the shots and ball speed, but could he do it on a cold morning in Los Angeles with a short turnaround? The opening nine holes of his second circuit were lapped up by a ravenous crowd. The surprise was that, for all the updates about physical limitations, it was the gentle fare that undid Woods as putt after putt slipped by, mostly on the right.

Starting on the 10th, Woods squandered birdie chances from eight and four feet on the first two holes. He nearly holed out from a bunker on the 12th but left with a bogey. Then he missed another putt from within five feet and you wondered if this was the start of the long and winding wane. Instead, he put his tee shot on the 187-yard par three to ten inches and struck another iron to two feet on the 17th.

Woods is always grimly optimistic and we wait to see whether he can put three or four rounds together. At the US PGA Championship last year he had a 69 on the Friday and commentators were quivering. Then he had a 79 and was gone on the Saturday night.

He has looked better here for long periods. For a start he can get down on his haunches to read putts, which was not the case last year. Putting into a bunker summed up the second nine, though, and he had three bogeys in his final four holes.

Keith Mitchell set the clubhouse lead at nine under with his fellow American Collin Morikawa a shot behind and the overnight leaders such as Max Homa, the 2021 Genesis champion, and Jon Rahm just starting out. Rory McIlroy had a largely frustrating day but birdied the last for a 69 to move to a healthy six under with Shane Lowry two behind.

Originally published as ‘Supposed to be all fun and games’: Tiger Woods apologises for giving Justin Thomas a tampon