It was the moment the rocked the inaugural Internet Invitational – and now the main protagonist, Paige Spiranac, has had her say…
It was a $1 million golf event made up of YouTube and social media stars, so of course there was going to be a controversy or two along the way.
The Internet Invitational – the brainchild of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy – saw a number of online personalities compete in a winner-takes-all showdown over the Cliffhangers course at Big Cedar Lodge.
The format saw 48 players compete in a number of challenges, with the field halving at the end of each day. And it all came to a head when Paige Spiranac’s team, which also included Barstool’s Frankie Borelli and Good Good Golf’s Malosi Togisala, took on the trio of Good Good’s Brad Dalke and Barstool pair Francis Ellis and Cody ‘Beef’ Franke in the final.
The three-player alternate shot match threatened to turn nasty when Spiranac was accused of cheating.
With Togisala preparing for a shot from some heavy rough, English professional golfer and YouTuber Peter Finch noticed Spiranac trampling down some grass to improve the lie for her teammate. The situation spiraled when Dalke and Ellis confronted their opponents on the green.
Now, though, Spiranac has addressed the situation in an Instagram Q&A.
“In all of my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating,” she said.
“Honestly, I am painfully, painfully embarrassed that I did not know this rule. I went to identify the golf ball. When I did, I pushed some grass to the side, and then a couple feet back, I pushed some grass aside. I never stomped down the grass.
“I thought that high grass was a loose impediment, and if the ball didn’t move, the lie didn’t change, the grass didn’t bend or break or get ripped out of the ground, then it was totally within the rules.
“To blatantly cheat with that many people around [and] that many cameras around would be insane. So I made a mistake. I learned now it was a rules infraction, and I’ll never do it again.”
Spiranac also copped some flak for hitting back at the opposing team when asked to hole out. “It just shows you’ve never played competitive golf before,” she jibed. Dalke, of course, is a former Amateur champion and has played in two majors, as well as representing the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, and Arnold Palmer Cup.
Spiranac owned up to that “crappy call”, adding: “The irony is not lost on me.”
The 32-year-old, who had a successful collegiate career before joining the pro ranks, is no stranger to online abuse since turning her attention to social media.
But she said that the incident at the Internet Invitational led to “the worst hate I’ve ever received in the 10 years of me doing this”.
She continued: “I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, the most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual – to the point where we were discussing me having to potentially get a restraining order.
“It’s serious stuff. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy, and I know people were wondering why I haven’t posted, or why I haven’t talked about it. I just needed to remove myself for my mental health. One thing that I really struggle with is wanting to be liked and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to dislike me, and I always try to do everything I can to have people like me.
“And so it’s just hard for me as a person with how I process things. And then obviously this situation has not been easy either, but luckily, I have a good support system and family around, and I just try to stay distracted.”
The Internet Invitational – which was produced by Bob Does Sports and Barstool’s golf division, Fore Play – has almost 25 million views and counting.
