Golf: Tiger Woods addresses tampon prank during PGA Tour comeback after backlash

The moment Tiger Woods slips a tampon into the hand of Justin Thomas. Photo / Getty

Tiger Woods has addressed his prank of handing fellow golfer Justin Thomas a tampon during their opening round of the Genisis Invitational after the moment went viral and was met with mixed reactions.

Woods handed Thomas the tampon he outdrove him on the ninth tee. Thomas flung it away and Tiger headed in for a hug as the pair shared a laugh.

“It was supposed to be fun and games but obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said when asked about the mostly negative reaction to his prank on social media.

“If I upset anybody it was not the case [sic], it was just friends having fun. And as I said, if I upset anyone in any way, shape or form then I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way.

“We play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this might not come across that way, but between us, it was different.”

While some found the act amusing – including golfer Paige Spiranac who wrote: “If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this we riot. It’s funny” - others were less than taken by the act.

Renowned US golf writer Rick Reilly was unimpressed with Woods’ juvenile conduct, writing: “All his humour is gross and tops out at 7th grade.”

Sarah Stirk, a sports presenter for Sky Sports in the UK, went further, describing the incident as “extremely disappointing” and “crass” on a broadcast, before also addressing the moment on social media.

Woods, who was making his return to top-level action for the first time since missing the cut at the British Open in July, was in a group with PGA Championship winner Thomas and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

Woods finished his opening round two-under-par, but struggled in his second round on Saturday (NZ time).

The 47-year-old carded five bogeys and just two birdies to end his round with a three-over-par 74, leaving him one-over for the tournament.