OLIVER HOLT: Woods wears air of a man surprised by his own stupidity

Perhaps it is an inevitable corollary of his fame, his achievements and the sycophancy that surrounds him in the sport he plays but even now, even after so many grievous and self-inflicted wounds, still wears the air of a man who is endlessly surprised by the repercussions of his own stupidity. For most of the rest of us, the surprise wore off a long time ago.

Woods' latest lesson in the real-world consequences that exist outside his weird bubble reads like this: if you think it is hilarious to slip your best buddy a tampon as you're walking off the ninth tee at a tournament because he didn't drive the ball as far as you, and you do it in front of the television cameras, you are going to provoke a new round of debate about lingeringly misogynistic attitudes towards women's sport.

as he and double major winner Justin Thomas strode towards the turn at the Genesis Invitational in , Woods' first competitive PGA Tour event since missing the cut at The Open in July, and a tournament that was supposed to be the stage for a Woods feel-good story, another step in his comeback from the car crash two years ago which left him with serious leg injuries.