Tiger Woods' Prank Doesn't Land With Everyone

Tiger Woods was back to form Thursday at the Genesis Invitational at Los Angeles' Riviera Country Club—his first golf tournament since missing the cut at the Open Championship last July—and back to his trash-talking ways. After Woods outdrove his playing partner Justin Thomas on the ninth hole, cameras captured him handing Thomas a tampon, a move that did not sit well with some onlookers. Sky Sports presenter Sarah Stirk said the "crass" and "extremely disappointing" move was clearly meant to imply that "women are inferior to men." "Someone pull some strings and bring him into the 21st century," quipped the Women's Equality Party of the UK.

"The 47-year-old father of a sports-playing teenage daughter" resorted to "an old prank that immature school boys used to think was funny," writes Christine Brennan at USA Today, echoing sentiments expressed on social media. "He employed basic misogyny to insult his good friend Thomas, a knee-slapper of a dig against female athletes: You hit the ball like a girl!" Woods, taking part in a tournament he hosts, had landed the ball 323 yards down the fairway, about 20 yards further than Thomas. He then slipped the tampon to his playing partner who, upon realizing what it was, dropped it, before the pair "shared a huge laugh and a side hug," per TMZ.

Brennan reached out to Woods' agent on Thursday, asking to hear the reason behind the move, but did not hear back. In a press conference after the round (he finished with "an encouraging 69," per the Guardian), Woods said he was happy to have played with Thomas and Rory McIlroy—"two great friends," per CNN. "It was a great round—the ebb and flow of needling each other, encouraging each other and telling stories," he continued. "I've missed some of the things that have transpired on Tour, which is kind of fun." He has one supporter in former professional golfer and influencer Paige Spiranac. "If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this we riot," she tweeted, describing the prank as "funny." (More Tiger Woods stories.)