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Golf influencer Paige Spiranac is speaking out about being accused of cheating at Barstool Sports’ Internet Invitational tournament.
During the final match of the tournament this summer, Spiranac was filmed pressing down the long grass in front of the ball of her playing partner, Malosi Togisala. Although her team ended up losing the $1 million prize, she was accused of improving Togisala’s lie, which is considered a penalty under the rules of golf.
Now, Spiranac is breaking her silence about the incident, which was posted online earlier this month, on her Instagram Story. During a Q&A session, she said Tuesday that while “there’s not much to say” about what happened, she was “painfully embarrassed” about patting the grass during the tournament, which she did not realize was a rule violation.
“I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating,” she explained. “There were so many cameras on me. To blatantly cheat with that many people around, that many cameras around, would be insane. So, I made a mistake. I learned now that it was a rules infraction, and I’ll never do it again.”
In a subsequent Instagram Story, she said the past week had brought the “worst hate” she’s received in her 10 years in the sport.
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Paige Spiranac says she’s received ‘worst hate’ in 10 years after she was accused of cheating during Barstool Sports golfing tournament (Getty Images)
“I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself,” Spiranac said. “The most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual that’s been in my DMs to the point where we were discussing me having to potentially get a restraining order. I mean, it’s serious stuff. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy.”
She clarified that she hadn’t talked about the cheating allegations because she “needed to remove” herself from the backlash for her mental health.
“One thing that I really struggle with is wanting to be liked and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to ever dislike me. And I always try to do everything I can to have people like me,” she concluded.
“And, so, it’s just hard for me as a person with how I process things and then obviously the situation has not been easy either. But, luckily, having a good support system, family around and just trying to stay distracted.”
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Paige Spiranac reacts to criticism after being accused of cheating during golf tournament (@ _paige.renee / Instagram)
Spiranac’s team ultimately lost the Internet Invitational in the final round on the 18th hole. The tournament, overseen by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy as rules official, featured 48 golf content creators and was filmed over the summer. Barstool released the six-episode series on YouTube this month.
During the tournament, Togisala was also accused of using the slope option on his rangefinder, which measures elevation levels on the course to help golfers choose what club to use. While players were allowed to use rangefinders, they were not allowed to use the slope options.
Togisala addressed the allegations during a recent episode of the Good Good Podcast, explaining that he had the slope option on during the first hole of the Internet International tournament. However, he claimed his group wasn’t told about the no slope rule until after the first hole, which is when he turned the option off.
“I’ll die on this hill,” he reiterated. “The slope was off.”
