Tiger Woods is undoubtedly one of the biggest legends in the sports world. His longevity, mentality, and the way he portrays himself on the course clearly indicate he’s up there with the icons like Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and many more. However, just like them, Woods has faced his fair share of drama off the golf course as well.
Recently, Woods caught the attention of the sporting world at the 2023 Genesis Invitational tournament. It happened on February 16, 2023, when Woods played with Justin Thomas and Rory Mcllroy. The golf legend outdrove Thomas on the ninth hole and handed him a tampon. This was what sparked a huge controversy among fans and the media.
Justin Thomas is a professional golfer since 2013 and has been one of the best players in recent years. He has 15 PGA Tour wins to his name, along with 2 PGA Championships (2017 & 2020).
Yes, Tiger Woods 100% handed Justin Thomas a tampon after he outdrove him. pic.twitter.com/VJbfldyXhw
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 17, 2023
Woods has faced numerous obstacles in recent times, with injuries mainly. As he becomes older, his recovery speed has understandably slowed down. It shows how much the outdrive meant to Tiger, but fans saw another side of it and sent plenty of criticism Tiger’s way. This even attracted a response from the man.
Tiger Woods responds to the backlash from fans for handing a tampon to Justin Thomas
Many had a go at Tiger and claimed that he was insensitive and inconsiderate for handing a tampon to Justin Thomas. However, some even defended the sporting icon and claimed that it was just a harmless joke. Whatever the case, the backlash forced Woods to apologize.
Tiger Woods apologized for his joke with Justin Thomas at Riviera pic.twitter.com/hqvMT1X5dO
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 17, 2023
He told reporters recently, “It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way. 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.”
Woods reassures the world that he passed the tampon as a joke and that it should not be taken seriously. This could be supported by the laughs shared by Tiger and Justin when the incident happened. In addition to that, Woods claims that it was just a joke between friends.
Tiger and Justin have been friends for a while, and even address one another as brothers. In 2021, Tiger even mentioned during a press conference Justin was the little brother that he never had. It speaks at length about their relationship and the jokes they share, but it did not occur the same to the rest of the world unfortunately.