Tiger Woods (48, USA) publicly apologized for mischief with feminine hygiene products in the first round of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars).
After the second round of the tournament held at the Riviera Country Club (par 71) in Pacific Palisades, California, USA on the 18th (Korean time), Woods said, “I’m sorry if I offended anyone in any way or form. It was not an intentional action like that,” he said, lowering his head.
The previous day, Woods hit a 323-yard tee shot, which was 10 yards longer than his fellow player Justin Thomas (USA), at the ninth hole in the first round of the tournament, then walked to the fairway and put something in Thomas’ hand. Thomas opened his hand and, after realizing that Woods had given him a tampon, he laughed and threw it to the ground. It seems that Woods played this prank to make fun of Thomas for not hitting the tee shot farther than he did. 스포츠토토
Foreign media captured this fleeting scene with a camera, and when the photo was released, social media (SNS) was flooded with articles criticizing Woods. Some claimed that Woods had a good time playing with his close teammates, while others criticized it as an insult to women.
USA Today pointed out in a column that “they are pranks with the intention of insulting women.” The Associated Press also reported, “When Woods succeeded in putting in the second round, a fan shouted ‘tampon’.”
To make matters worse, Woods’ game that day was also not good. He made two birdies but committed five bogeys and shot a 3-over-par 74. He is tied for 60th with a total of 1 over par 143, so he has to wait until the second round to see if he passes the cut. He seems to be far from winning the victory he so confidently claimed. This is because he is 9 strokes away from Max Homa (USA), who is the sole leader.
The average driver shot was 306 yards, which was the top rank, but the driver shot accuracy was not good at 35.71% (5/14), and the green hit rate was only 50% (9/18). The number of strokes gained by putting was low at -2.