Tiger Woods has apologized for his tampon prank.
“It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said Friday following his second round at the Genesis Invitational. “If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun.”
That “fun” involved the 47-year-old Woods slipping his 29-year-old playing partner Justin Thomas the feminine product after outdriving him on the ninth hole during Thursday’s opening round at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles. The exchange was captured by a Getty Images photographer and soon went viral on social media, with many lambasting the 15-time major champion for the behavior.
Others, meanwhile, came to Woods’ defense, including social media influencer and former pro golfer Paige Spiranic, who tweeted, “If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this we riot. It’s funny.”
Still, the incident caused enough of an uproar that it spiraled Thursday evening and into Friday afternoon.
Following Woods’ second-round 3-over-par 74 that left him outside the cut line when he finished, he was asked about the stunt and apologized for it.
“If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry,” he said. “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.”
Woods is playing in his first PGA Tour event since last July at the British Open. Though he got off to a strong start with an opening-round 69 that included five birdies, including three in a row to close, he struggled with his putting for much of Friday’s round and bogeyed three of his final four holes.