Golf

Tiger Woods is being called out by a women's empowerment group for his tampon prank at a PGA Tour event ... saying how dare he, especially with a daughter at home.

Kara Sugar, CEO of the Women's Global Empowerment Fund, tells TMZ ... Tiger's tampon moment was not only misogynistic but also tone-deaf and straight-up disrespectful to women and girls all over the world.

Sugar ripped the golfing legend, wondering if he's intimating "periods are embarrassing or shameful or a sign of weakness?"

As you know ... Tiger was playing his Friday round at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles with Justin Thomas when he hit his ball further than Justin and handed a Tampax to his friend and competitor. The misguided sentiment -- Justin hits "like a girl."

The women's group says it's sad to see Tiger do this because he's a grown man with a daughter ... and they feel the joke distracts from the serious issues involving mental health and periods, which women and girls around the globe face.

Tiger gave an apology/non apology, saying "It was supposed to be all fun and games. Obviously it hasn't turned out that way. If I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I'm sorry."  In other words, not really an apology."

Tiger Woods is now apologizing for slipping a tampon to Justin Thomas after outdriving him on a hole during a round of golf on Thursday ... saying "it was supposed to be all fun and games."

"Obviously," the golfing legend added, "it hasn't turned out that way."

Woods played the prank -- which many have deemed to be sexist -- on his golfing buddy on the ninth hole of the duo's opening round at the Genesis Invitational ... after putting his tee shot some 20 yards past the 29-year-old PGA Tour star.

You can see in video of the two as they walked toward their balls on the fairway ... Woods handed over the Tampax, and when Thomas saw what it was, he immediately dropped it.

The guys then shared a big laugh and a side hug ... before continuing on with their round.

Woods, a father of a 15-year-old daughter, was panned for the move ... and following his second round at the event on Friday, he insisted he didn't mean to offend anybody with his actions.

"If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I'm sorry," Woods said.

The 47-year-old went on to explain he and Thomas play jokes on each other all the time.

"I think this did not come across that way," he said. "But, between us, it was different."

Further proof Tiger Woods is rounding back into form ... the notorious trash-talker outdrove Justin Thomas on a hole Thursday, then pulled a prank that's only gonna start the "cancel him" chants.

The moment went down on the ninth hole of the guys' opening round at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles ... when Tiger brought out his driver, and nuked a ball 323 yards down the fairway.

Thomas' ensuing drive didn't even come close to the legend's ... falling some 20 yards short of it -- and as the two were walking to their balls, Tiger slyly passed off a Tampax to his good buddy.

It took a quick second for Thomas to realize what it was -- and then he immediately dropped it. The guys then shared a huge laugh and a side hug with each other.

That's likely to be the last time they find the wildly offensive stunt funny, because the online backlash has already begun. Considering Tiger's already bounced back from scandal after scandal, you'd think he'd have better PR sense than to pull something like this.

Of course, Tiger and J.T. are very good friends and have both become known for talking smack on the course. In fact, at The Match back in December, the two threw jabs at each other for hours throughout the evening.

Thomas ended up with the last laugh on Tiger, though -- at least, when it came to Thursday's scores -- he shot a 3-under 68, while Woods carded a 2-under 69.

PGA Tour star Tony Finau ain't too proud to admit it -- he misses some of his golfing pals who defected to LIV ... telling TMZ Sports he hasn't been able to see his buddies in a long time due to the creation of the new league.

Finau told us he used to be super close with guys like Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer and Brooks Koepka ... but when they all left the Tour, it put a serious strain on their friendships.

"Man," he said out in Arizona this week, "I haven't seen them in literally like a year."

He added that it all sucks.

Of course, Finau's had his opportunities to head over to LIV and join his bros ... but he's been against it.

The 33-year-old has said in the past he'd rather stay on the Tour and compete there for glory ... as opposed to chasing money in the Saudi-backed LIV.

It's no surprise things are already getting rowdy at one of the more crazy events on The PGA Tour ... but if you had streaker on your BINGO card, fill in a square.

The jarring scene happened Friday during Waste Management's Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, AZ. As you can see, a random guy evades security and runs onto 16 hole ... wearing only his undies, and earning a huge applause in the process.

At one point, the nude bandit grabs the pin and gives fans his best stripper impression ... before completing his routine with a belly flop into the pond and finally getting corralled by security.

If Aaron Rodgers gets traded this offseason, apparently it won't be to the 49ers ... the star quarterback said Thursday he's "not going to San Fran."

The Green Bay Packers star made the proclamation while getting set to tee off on a Par-3 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am ... after a hole announcer had asked if he had any news to share.

Of course, Rodgers was smirking ear-to-ear as he made the statement -- so it's hard to determine whether or not he was being serious ... or just trolling the Northern California crowd.

Rodgers has been rumored to be on the trade block for weeks -- and with the health issues in the 49ers' quarterback room, many thought SF might be an ideal landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.

Then again, the New York Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders -- whose best player, Davante Adams, openly recruited Rodgers in a tweet on Wednesday night -- also make a ton of sense for the QB.

Green Bay has yet to say publicly if it's shopping the 39-year-old signal-caller ... but either way, a decision's gotta be made within the next few months, if not weeks.

PGA Tour star, Max Homa's mind was off of birdies and onto bees during his round on Thursday -- at least momentarily -- 'cause one of the winged insects landed right on his ball ... and didn't want to move!!!

The funny scene all happened on the ninth green at Torrey Pines at the Farmers Insurance Open ... when Homa went to line up his birdie putt.

Broadcast video shows as the 32-year-old golfer reached down to examine his ball, a bee was parked on it ... and seemed rather cozy.

Homa tried -- carefully, we might add -- to get the little guy to move, but he wasn't budging.

"He's tyring to get rid of a frequent flyer there," one of the event's broadcaster's joked.

Eventually, Homa got it to fly away -- avoiding the stinger in the process.

Barack Obama is staying warm while most of the country is dealing with extreme weather .... hitting up a golf course in Hawaii ahead of the holidays.

The former prez was spotted getting in a Round of Golf in Hawaii on Thursday ... sporting a pink shirt, white shorts and a pair of sunnies.

Barack appeared to be with pals, but still had his game face on ... as he set up his swing. Unclear if the whole family is in Hawaii, but they're certainly known to spend time there.

You'll recall, Barack and Michelle Obama had a mansion built on the island of Oahu back in 2015 after dropping $8.7M on the property ... but it came with some pushback from environmentalists over a seawall.

The Obamas seem to be enjoying the place they can now call home ... and it very well could be where they plan to spend their retirement years.

Want to feel bad about your golf game? Here's long drive star, Kyle Berkshire, setting a new record ... by absolutely crushing a ball over 235 MPH!!!

The pro golfer -- who's become a legend for his ability to hit balls 450-plus yards -- set up inside of a TrackMan simulator on Thursday ... and went to town with his driver to try to land a new ball speed marker.

According to Golf.com, Berkshire took around 70 swings ... but with one of them, he was able to break the record for ball speed, hitting it a staggering 236.2 MPH.

In fact, according to the outlet, Berkshire accomplished the feat two more times in the sesh ... and said afterward he actually could've gotten to 238!!!

Berkshire said he fueled up with caffeine and music ... and said, "You've really got to put yourself in a place of fight or flight to push yourself past your maxes."

The 26-year-old, who PGA Tour star Bryson DeChambeau has trained with, believes at some point he'll completely dust his new record -- aiming for 240 MPH by next year.

The 7th installment of "The Match" tees off on Saturday -- featuring golfing superstars Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth -- but aside from putting together a helluva foursome, the event has already raised more than $2.5 million for hurricane relief!

TMZ Sports talked to Bryan Zuriff -- just days before the event -- and while the 'Match' creator is absolutely pumped for the golf, he says he's most proud about the incredible amount of money they've raised for charity.

"What I'm really most proud of is the money we've raised. So far we've raised $33 million in our event, and we're gonna do great on this one. We're already north of $2 million for hurricane relief before we tee off."

Zuriff continued ... "The fact that we're able to help so many people with these events, and also make it profitable for the network, it's a testament to what we do."

The money from this year's match (which promises to be significantly more than $2 mil) will go toward hurricane relief. Florida has been hit hard by storms this year ... including Hurricane Ian.

Previous editions of "The Match" have benefited causes like COVID-19 relief and support of HBCUs.

As for the actual game ... it's Woods (unranked -- but, he's Tiger) and Rory (#1 in the world) against Justin (#8 in the world) and Jordan (#14 in the world). The 12-hole round -- "best ball" rules -- will be played at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, FL.

For example ... say the guys pull up to the first hole. Tiger shoots a 3, and Rory and 4. The Woods/McIlroy team would use their best score ... TW's 3. Same goes for Justin and Jordan.

As always, Charles Barkley will be part of the commentary team (if anyone can break down a swing, it's Chuck).

Past versions of "The Match" have featured superstars like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Patrick Mahomes, amongst others.

Tiger Woods has been sidelined once again.

The golfing legend revealed he has developed a new foot injury -- plantar fasciitis -- and he'll have to withdraw from this weekend's Hero World Challenge over it.

Woods said he made the decision after talking with his doctors and trainers ... adding that the condition is "making it difficult to walk."

The 46-year-old, however, still plans to perform his hosting duties at the event -- and he said he's still gunning to get in golf at two events next month.

"My plan is still to compete in The Match and PNC Championship," he said.

The Match -- a high-profile celebrity golf event where he will team up with Rory McIlroy to take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas -- goes down Dec. 10. The PNC Championship, where he'll team up with his son, Charlie Woods, goes down Dec. 15.

Tiger has battled ailments throughout his career, but has barely played since he badly broke his leg in a February 2021 car accident.

He logged rounds at The Masters, the PGA Championship and the Open this past year -- his first since the wreck -- but he withdrew from U.S. Open after his surgically repaired leg wasn't in good enough condition to compete.

"My body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf," Woods tweeted at the time.

Tiger Woods was mistakenly -- and HORRIFYINGLY -- dragged into a political ad this week, calling for cop killers and mass murderers to be sentenced to death.

The legendary golfer's 2017 DUI arrest footage was front and center in the campaign ad, dubbed "Just Intentional," which was released Thursday by Kris Kobach, the Republican nominee for Kansas Attorney General.

In the ad, Kobach put his Democrat opponent, Chris Mann, on blast over his opposition to capital punishment, splicing in Wood's arrest along with images of two convicted murderers currently on Kansas’ death row.

Kobach’s spokesperson Danedri Herbert told FOX Digital the ad agency they hired was to blame for the error, but they caught it and fixed it within minutes.

Herbert went on ... "What a happy accident that media is going to pick this up and expose Chris Mann as a soft-on-crime liberal Democrat who will let cop killers and mass murderers off easy for their heinous crimes."

A new ad was cut, replacing the Woods footage with images of what appears to be a prison inmate.

Pro golfer Grayson Murray was involved in a bloody scooter accident in Bermuda this week ... which knocked him unconscious and forced him to withdraw from a PGA Tour event.

Murray -- who was set to play in the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship -- was traveling back to his hotel via scooter at around 4 PM when the incident occurred, per VCP Golf.

Murray was turning around a bend in the road when he steered near the center line. Unfortunately for the golfer, a car coming in the opposite direction was also moving near the center, which resulted in the 29-year-old colliding with the front corner of the vehicle -- knocking him off his ride and rolling several feet.

Grayson's caddie, Doug Schwimmer, was traveling behind him on scooter and witnessed the horrific accident ... but could not intervene because he was going too quickly to stop.

Schwimmer experienced road rash after falling off his scooter ... but was not transported to the hospital.

Murray, meanwhile, was left unconscious and needed 50 stitches (25 on his face) to close his wounds ... but did not suffer any broken bones.

While parts of the ordeal remain foggy for Murray, he does remember telling witnesses that his knee was in a lot of pain.

Murray refused to blame anyone for the accident ... saying, "Riding on the opposite side of the road is already confusing, and the roads in Bermuda are narrow and sketchy."

FYI -- Murray and his caddie were riding scooters because tourists in the area are prohibited from renting cars.

"Honestly, I’m pretty fortunate because the helmet saved me," Murray told Golfweek. "If it wasn’t for my knee and stitches in my left hand, I would try to play."

Murray posted a photo on Instagram on Thursday, making the thumbs-up gesture ... and informing everyone that he was heading home.

"Thank you to the PGA tour staff for all the help the last couple days and all the well wishes I got from players/caddies and y'all. Much love."

Brooks Koepka's wife, Jena Sims, just shared a truly BEHIND-the-scenes look at their big wedding day ... posting some stunning lingerie pics before throwing on her white dress -- and even shots of the PGA star in his skivvies!!

The hot couple tied the knot back in June ... having a lavish getaway ceremony in Turks and Caicos with their closest friends and family. They got engaged in 2021.

The model and actress explained to her Instagram followers on Tuesday she wanted to give an inside look at their special day ... and did so by adding some sexy images of the two wearing nothing but their undies prior to meeting at the altar.

Sims elected to go with a lacy bra and panties ... while Brooks kept it casual with some custom white boxer briefs with "GROOM" etched across his butt.

"Who wore it better?" Sims captioned the Melissa Marshall set ... but based on the comments, she's the clear winner.

Even friend Caroline Wozniaki had to gush over the pics ... saying, "Bodyyyyy🔥🔥🔥."

Brooks and Jena first went public at the U.S. Open in 2017 ... and haven't been shy about their love for each other ever since.

You know what they say about couples that pose in undies together .... they -- eh, forget it. They're hot.

Paige Spiranac -- the most followed golfer on Instagram -- says she was forced to delete a ton of comments on her latest IG video ... after a bunch of men called her fat.

Spiranac posted the clip to her social media page on Wednesday -- showing her hitting a golf ball while wearing a tight, pink one-piece outfit.

The problem ... she said after she threw the footage online, men left hateful comments all over it.

"Honestly the amount of men calling me 'fat' on this post is next level lol," the 29-year-old pro-golfer-turned-influencer said to her 3.6 million followers on Wednesday night. "I've had to delete so many comments which I almost never do."

Spiranac says it was all troubling for her ... because she's struggled to "maintain my ideal weight all the time for year after year."

She said she works out and diets right, "but it doesn't come naturally to me."

She then urged the trolls to calm down on the vitriol going forward.

"It can be defeating when people call out body insecurities," she said.

Spiranac hopes to be able to share more about her diet and fitness routine to help others who "feel a similar body pressure."

Will Zalatoris -- one of golf's hottest young stars -- is begging Tiger Woods to officially apply for a cart exemption on the PGA Tour ... telling the legendary ball-striker to "get in the damn cart!"

Tiger has struggled to get around courses in his return to golf following his near-fatal car crash in 2021 ... and it's bothered him so much, it's affected his scores, and his ability to play tournaments with regularity.

Woods can get permission from Tour officials to remedy the situation by using a cart -- given the severity of the leg injury he suffered in the L.A. accident -- but he's said he'll never do that, telling media members previously, "If I can’t play at that level, I can’t play at that level."

Zalatoris, who's set a goal to play a round with the golf legend at some point in his career, clearly thinks that's a mistake -- believing a cart exemption could extend Woods' reign on courses for several more years.

"The part that amazes me is he has such a hard time walking, but man, he can still play some good golf," Zalatoris told Graham Bensinger on the latest episode of "In Depth With Graham Bensinger."

"Tiger could get a cart if he wants to. But you know he's never going to take it. Because that's who he is. And it's like, selfishly, I'm like, 'Dude, get in the cart. I want to play with you.'"

Zalatoris, who finished in second in both this year's PGA Championship and U.S. Open, added, "I want to see you when you're 50 ... get in the damn cart."

Woods has played competitively with a cart recently -- he used one in his famous return to golf with his son at the PNC Championship in 2021 ... and dominated.