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The Internet Invitational has taken over the golfing world.
Millions are tuning in to each episode to watch amateur golfers compete for $1.3 million. The field consists of players of all abilities, from high-handicap hackers to former PGA Tour pros.
The barrier to entry for this event isn’t talent, it’s entertainment, with some of the best moments of the tournament so far coming from the worst golfers delivering their worst golf.
But one player in particular, who goes by The Duke, performed so badly at this year’s Internet Invitational that fans called for him to never be invited back.
Dave Portnoy responds to calls for The Duke to be banned from the Internet Invitational
The Duke caused a stir at the Internet Invitational when he made it all the way to the penultimate round. He was put on a team with Ryan Ruffles, who had been the tournament’s best player up to that point, and Marissa Wenzler.
In many fans’ eyes, that team’s fate was sealed the moment The Duke was put on it, and they finished dead last that round, sending all three players home. Many believed that he simply isn’t good enough to be in the tournament, and it ruins any player’s chances of winning if he is put on their team.
Portnoy, however, believed The Duke didn’t play up to his albeit low standard. He said, “People say it should be Duke’s last Invitational. Let me tell you something. The Duke played so bad, and I’m not even saying he’s bad, we know that, but I mean bad for The Duke. Because he was f—–g nervous.
“I think for the first time in the tournament, he’s smelling $1.3 million, which changes his life. He’d probably be dead to be honest. If The Duke won $1.3 million he’s probably dead, he wouldn’t be able to take it.
“But I think he was smelling it and he got f—–g nervous. He was almost like a much different guy to a degree, and the pressure go to him which is the point of the tournament.
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“And he said, I don’t know if it was on camera I didn’t watch all of it because obviously I know everything that happens. But it’s like, ‘I get if you don’t invite me back. I get it. I had my chance, I totally get it if I’m not coming back next year.’
“So we’ll see. I don’t think a decision has been made on that either way. I think I’ve input enough where if I said, ‘we absolutely can’t have this guy any more’, I think Bob and Fore Play would value that.
“But for the billionth time, I don’t make the list. I don’t invite people. I don’t pick them out, I don’t disinvite. Not me.”
Admittedly, Ruffles and Wenzler also didn’t play their best golf either, as the nerves got to all three players. It seems harsh to put it all on The Duke, who was one of many high-handicappers at the event.
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