Fifteen-time Major champion Tiger Woods apologized after handing fellow golfer Justin Thomas a tampon during the first round of the Genesis Invitational on Thursday.
Following Friday's second round at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, Woods said he didn't mean to offend anyone.
"It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn't turned out that way." Tiger told reporters. "If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun. As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I'm sorry. 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."
If tiger spent three months a year bleeding and coping with period pain, they'd make a whole-ass documentary about how champions overcome insurmountable obstacles," Alex McDaniel, managing editor of USA Today's For The Win, tweeted on Friday morning.
Woods is in danger of missing the cut at the tournament, after finishing his second round at one-over-par. The projected cut line is currently even-par, according to pgatour.com, but ESPN's broadcast said the cut line is expected to move to one-over as the afternoon progresses.
Woods criticized his play on Friday, saying "this was the highest score I could have shot today."
After suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident two years ago, Woods has made sporadic competitive appearances as he battles with a grueling recovery process.
Playing at the Genesis Invitational this week marks his first official tournament start since The Open Championship in July and his first non-major PGA Tour event since the ZOZO Championship in October 2020.
He finished his first round with a two-under par 69, with birdies on his final three holes, to end the day five shots behind tournament leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell.
Stephen Douglas of The Big Lead wrote: “It is slightly insane that Tiger Woods, while hosting an entire tournament and playing his first competitive round in seven months, decided to carry a tampon in his bag. And then he immediately pulled it out of his bag in time for the walk down the fairway after he realised he had hit it further than Thomas. This is the most Tiger is Back moment we’ve had since he won the Masters.”
Much of the golf world was stunned that Tiger had the audacity to play this prank. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac also hit out at any potential critics, writing: “If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this we riot. It’s funny”.
She also teased what must be a popular idea with the bad blood between the PGA and LIV golfers.
“I need a LIV vs PGA tour Ryder cup type event just so Tiger can give Phil a tampon after out driving him,” she tweeted.
Woods birdied his last three holes to wrestle a two-under-par 69 from Riviera Country Club on Thursday and thrill fans cheering his return to PGA Tour.
The 15-time major champion hadn’t teed it up in a tour-level event since the British Open in July as the severe leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car accident continued to curtail his schedule.
Woods was greeted by cheers and chants of “Tiger! Tiger!” at the first tee, fans crowding for a glimpse as they would all around the classic course in Pacific Palisades west of downtown Los Angeles.
He opened with a birdie at the par-five first and after a bogey at the fourth he got back under par with a birdie at the eighth, where he landed his second shot from the fairway three feet from the pin.
Bogeys at the 10th and 12th put him one-over, but Woods turned things around — rolling in a five-foot birdie putt at the 16th and then curling in a 23-footer at the par-five 17th, where his approach had left him off the green.
He was in the fairway at 18, where his seven-foot birdie was greeted by massive cheers, Woods tipping his cap to the crowd after a round that left him five off the lead shared by former Genesis Invitational champion Max Homa and Keith Mitchell.
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