"Should just be fun": Tiger Woods apologizes for tampon prank

To tease his rival Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods hands the 29-year-old a tampon at the Genesis Invitational.

"Should just be fun": Tiger Woods apologizes for tampon prank

To tease his rival Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods hands the 29-year-old a tampon at the Genesis Invitational. The outcry on the internet is so great that Woods publicly apologizes for his behavior.

A tampon joke gone wrong has forced golf superstar Tiger Woods to issue a public apology. "It was just supposed to be fun, obviously it didn't go down that way," said the 47-year-old about the prank he played on his rival Justin Thomas. At the tournament in Pacific Palisades, California, Woods had put a tampon in Thomas' hand during the joint game round. When the 29-year-old noticed what he was holding, he immediately dropped the hygiene item. Laughing, Woods put his arm around his colleague.

With the action he apparently wanted to tease Thomas for having previously managed to hit a longer tee shot despite his age and injury history. The scene caused a stir on social networks and a lot of criticism of Woods. He said he didn't mean to offend anyone. "It was just fun among friends," said the 47-year-old. Even if the pictures should have worked differently, it was just one of many pranks they would play.

The Genesis Invitational start is Woods' first appearance at a tournament since last summer. In February 2021, Woods broke his right leg several times in a serious car accident. Since then, the long-standing number one in the golf world has only played in a few selected tournaments. After a strong opening round, in which Woods needed 69 shots on the par-71 course in California, things went much worse for him on the second day. With 74 strokes, he placed himself in the back of the field and had to fear for the cut and participation in the further rounds.