Tiger Woods

Legendary Female Golfers Come to Defense of Tiger Woods Amid Controversy

LPGA legends Suzann Pettersen and Laura Davies have come to the defense of PGA Tour star Tiger Woods following the controversy from this past weekend’s 2023 Genesis Invitational.

Woods, who competed in his first tour event since the 2020 Zozo Championship, was criticized for handing Justin Thomas a tampon after out-driving him on No. 9 during Round 1 Thursday. Pettersen, a 15-time winner on the LPGA Tour, said Tuesday she didn’t believe Woods meant to offend anyone.

“I know Tiger quite well,” Pettersen said, via Sky Sports. “I don’t know Justin Thomas as well, but I know kind of Tiger’s humor and that’s a very probably boyish joke between the two of them and I don’t really take it too personal… Think that was supposed to be a gag between the two of them and unfortunately some cameras caught it in the heat of the moment. I don’t know, I don’t think he meant to be offensive in any way.

“I’m pretty easy on stuff like that. I’m sure it was meant as a joke, not as a harassment to women in general.”

Davies, a four-time major winner, wasn’t offended by the gesture.

LPGA Legends Not Offended By Tiger Woods’ ‘Prank’ on Justin Thomas

“I think it’s misplaced jokes, a laddy kind of joke,” Davies said. “Maybe he misread the situation. I personally am not offended by it. People seem to be looking for things to worry about. It’s a shame it happened. We are talking about this rather than them entertaining thousands of people. I’m sure Tiger meant no harm by it. I can’t believe there was any malice in it. It was really poorly judged. I am sure he would regret he did it now.

“I think he might want to [apologize] knowing what it’s caused in the last 24 hours. He will be disappointed that he has been shown to be a bit sexist with what he did. It’s just a bit of fun, it’s just banter on a golf course. When Tiger does it, unfortunately, everything gets magnified.”

Woods took the opportunity to apologize for the “prank” after his Round 2 Friday.

“It was supposed to be all fun and games but obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said. “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. We play pranks on one another all the time. Virally, I think this did not come across that way but, between us, it was different.”