Golf legend Tiger Woods has apologised after being caught on digital camera on Thursday handing a tampon to a fellow skilled in what he described as a “prank”.
“It was supposed to be all fun and games, and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods stated on Friday. “If I offended anyone, it was not the case; it was simply mates having enjoyable.
“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.”
Woods, 47, was taking part in within the first spherical of the Genesis Invitational on the Riviera Country Club in California in a gaggle with fellow American Justin Thomas and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
After Woods hit his drive from the ninth tee additional than Thomas, the PGA Championship winner, he was seen slipping a tampon into Thomas’s hand as they walked down the golf green.
Thomas, 29, who’s shut mates with Woods, threw the merchandise away and the pair shared amusing as they made their technique to their subsequent shot.
The suggestion is that Woods was calling Thomas a girl for not having the ability to match his drive.
It was the primary aggressive event for Woods, a 15-time main winner, since he performed at The Open in St Andrews, in July 2022.
Two days after Woods final performed on the Genesis Invitational event in 2021 he suffered critical accidents in a automobile crash which appeared to finish his skilled profession.
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It’s not the primary time that both golfer has courted controversy: Thomas apologised in 2021 after utilizing a homophobic slur throughout a event in Hawaii, whereas Woods noticed his marriage break down amid a sequence of infidelity allegations in 2009.
Reaction to the newest incident within the golf world was blended.
Paige Spiranac, a feminine golfer, discovered it amusing and wrote on Twitter: “If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this, we riot.”
However, one other Twitter person known as Flushing It, who describes themselves as an “ex pro”, requested whether or not the prank sat nicely with the game’s makes an attempt to draw extra girls.
“At a time where women’s golf is pushing on to higher and higher levels, I don’t think the ‘gift’ that Tiger gave to JT helps golf’s image. Is it supposed to be funny because women supposedly can’t hit a ball?”
Sky Sports golf presenter Sarah Stirk stated “My overriding feeling is completely surprised and being honest really disappointed. The incident was crass. It was laddy, blokey behaviour – he’s saying ‘Look, I’ve outdriven you, you’re driving the ball like a woman’, effectively.
“To me, that claims that females are inferior to males. That’s not what we wish to be showcasing on the earth of sport.”
Source: information.sky.com”