Tiger Woods apologises for ‘tampon-gate’ as McIlroy and Lowry make moves at Riviera

The 15-time Major winner outdrove playing partners Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy consistently on day one and poked fun at Thomas by putting an unopened tampon in his hand after he’d outdriven him on the ninth.

Woods’ prank went viral on social media and he apologised for causing offence.

“Yeah, it was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” said Woods, who was on the one-over-par cut line after a final-hole bogey. “As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it was – it’s different.”

Like Woods, Rory McIlroy also struggled on the greens and looked to the heavens after making a 15-footer at the last for a “pedestrian” two-under 69 to go into the weekend just three shots behind clubhouse leader Keith Mitchell, who shot 69 lead by a shot from Collin Morikawa on nine-under.

Shane Lowry also showed signs of a return to form, though he finished bogey-birdie-bogey for a 69 that left him just five shots off the pace in a tie for eighth on four-under, while Séamus Power was also set for the weekend on level-par after he made five birdies in a one-under 70.

Woods said he was “a little taken aback” to hear of the passing yesterday of the DP World Tour’s former chief referee John Paramor – “one of the all-time best rules officials” – from cancer aged 67.

There will be a minute’s silence at the Thailand Classic, where West Waterford rookie Gary Hurley carded a five-under 67 to share 24th on six-under, seven strokes behind Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Tom McKibbin shot 71 but missed the three-under cut by a shot while John Murphy missed out comfortably on three-over after a 77.

There will also be a minute’s silence at the Challenge Tour’s SDC Open, where South Africa’s JJ Senekal shot 67 to lead by four shots from Martin Vorster on 15-under as Conor Purcell and Ruaidhri McGee missed the cut.

On the Ladies European Tour, Leona Maguire shot a three-under 69 to go into the weekend nine behind India’s Aditi Ashok in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.