Golf: Tiger Woods rows back after misogynistic joke

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Tiger Woods (left) and Justin Thomas

Photo: CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA

Golf star Tiger Woods made a misogynistic joke on his comeback on the US tour in Los Angeles and received a lot of criticism for it.

At the Genesis Invitational, the 47-year-old handed compatriot Justin Thomas a tampon to tease him after a successful shot on the ninth hole.

Thomas immediately threw it to the ground, then the two pros laughed on the green.

The reactions were not long in coming.

'Really, tiger?

You're a 47-year-old father of a girl still playing sexist tampon pranks like an immature schoolboy?” wrote Christine Brennan in her USA Today column.

Woods' message was clear and said: "You play like a girl."

Alex McDaniel, editor-in-chief of USA Today's For The Win website, didn't take kindly to Woods either.

"If tigers bled three months a year and had to deal with period pains they would make an entire documentary about champions overcoming insurmountable obstacles," McDaniel tweeted.

"It was just for fun, obviously it didn't work," Woods said when asked about the prank. "If I offended anyone, it wasn't on purpose.

I'm sorry.

It was all about friends who wanted to have fun.

We always play pranks on each other.«

First tournament for Woods since last summer

The Genesis Invitational start is Woods' first appearance at a tournament since last summer.

In February 2021, Woods broke his right leg several times in a serious car accident. Since then, the long-standing number one in the golf world has only played in a few selected tournaments.

After a strong opening round, in which Woods needed 69 shots on the par-71 course in California, things went much worse for him on the second day.

With 74 strokes, he placed himself in the back of the field and had to worry about the cut and participation in the further rounds.

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