Tiger Woods, Tampons, and Old “Dude” Jokes Gone Wrong

— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) February 17, 2023

Let’s take a little timeout from our season-long NFL betting and the highly anticipated beginning of March Madness to talk about the man, the myth, the legend, and part-time jackass – Tiger Woods.

Woods hadn’t played since last July when he tied for 39th at the JP McManus Pro-Am but he was back at it on Thursday, hosting the Genesis Invitational with his boys, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. Just a trio of world-class golfers grippin’ it and rippin’ it, out for a leisurely round on the lush plush of the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

Well, it would have been leisurely, had Tiger not pulled an ill-advised prank upon outdriving Thomas on the ninth fairway. After watching his buddy’s drive fall short of his, he casually tried to hand a tampon to Thomas, as if that would escape the scrutiny of the dozens of unblinking eyes recording every nuance and movement.

Once Thomas ascertained what he was being handed, he flicked it away like it was a… well… a tampon. If you’ve missed the point, Tiger was not so subtly telling Thomas he hits like a girl which would have elicited plenty of hearty laughs and pats on the back if this was the 1980s.

But in 2023, any laughs, fake or genuine, at Tiger’s prank must be stifled and we must immediately mob up and tell Tiger with one firm and unwavering voice, “This misogyny will not be tolerated!”

Yes, Tiger Woods 100% handed Justin Thomas a tampon after he outdrove him. pic.twitter.com/VJbfldyXhw

— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 17, 2023

Let’s check the latest Golf news, stats, injury reports, and Golf lines.We’ve got plenty of Golf picks for you to consider.

Unacceptable behavior or just a poor choice of jokes from an old fart?

But before we gather the pitchforks and lanterns let’s take a step back and analyze this. First and foremost, for a guy who went to Stanford, he can be pretty damn stupid. He has lived with the ignominy that followed the dissolution of his marriage, due to him being a man-whore, for well over a decade.

His former wife and bona fide smoke show, Elin Nordegren, ultimately divorced him and it proved to be the beginning of the end of the Tiger Woods era. Women all over America loathed him while men all over the world simply shrugged.

Woods has never been the same and if you ever had any doubts that golf is a game that tests the boundaries of mental acuity and emotional resolve then just take a look at Tiger’s record since his philandering became public knowledge. He won 14 majors before the “incident” and just one since his 2009 cheating scandal.

Along the way, Tiger has had a few other minor hiccups like a DUI charge in 2017 and a spectacular car crash in 2021 in which he was the only occupant of the only vehicle involved. So, life has not been a bowl of cherries for Tiger despite a galactic bank account and his legacy as one of the best golfers the game has ever known.

Now that we’ve retraced Tiger’s footsteps, let’s get back to this latest gaffe. The man is 47 years old, no longer a spring chicken, and perhaps blithely unaware that the world is changing. Feminism is on steroids these days, and so too are many female athletes. But I digress.

Riddle me this. If you and your boys were at the public municipal course, tearing up the fairways and driving your golf carts on the greens, and one of your homies gave you a tampon after you skulled your drive that barely made it past the 150-yard marker, what would you do?

Chances are you would do one of two things: Laugh it off and call him a prick or not laugh and call him a prick. But you know what you wouldn’t do? You wouldn’t stop playing the round and hanging out at the 19th hole for a few brewskies afterward because he did something that could be construed as insensitive.

In honor of Tiger handing JT a tampon at the Genesis Open, I’m bringing back this video from April of last year 😂 What would you do if someone handed you a tampon? Comment below 👇🏽 #golf #golfmemes #ziregolf #golfgods #pgatour #genesisopen #tigerwoods #justinthomas pic.twitter.com/qZziw30xGw

— 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒅 ‟𝑴𝑨𝑴𝑰‟ 🇲🇽 (@golfmami_) February 17, 2023

But when you’re a golf legend, your words and actions are constantly scrutinized. Nevertheless, there won’t be one female golfer or athlete who will hang up their clubs, sneakers, skates, or whatever tools of their trade happen to be just because Tiger insinuated women are significantly weaker than men…

Positioning menstruation as weakness is the patriarchy and this is a puerile, stale joke. Let’s put the menstrual cramp machine on Tiger Woods so he can have some more data about menstruation. https://t.co/0tuZdYzjLZ

— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) February 17, 2023

Today’s woman has too much self-respect to give Tiger’s immaturity even a cursory glance and certainly no need for a man’s approval, which tells us how awesome they are and how far they’ve come despite idiotic antics by boomers and X’ers trying to have a laugh at their expense.

If you’re outraged at Tiger’s prank, you might be giving him far too much credit and attention, and today’s female athletes not nearly enough. Food for thought.

I’m outta here… Let’s ride!