Golf fans are used to seeing Paige Spiranac in sultry social media snaps and racy outfits. However, they witnessed a very different side to the influencer last week.
Spiranac, 32, was a far cry from her usual glamorous self as she sparked emotional scenes during an influencer golf tournament.
The golf glamour girl was accused of cheating during the final round of The Internet International earlier this month.
The $1million tournament, hosted by Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports, featured some of the nation’s top golf influencers, including Spiranac, who boasts four million followers on Instagram.
And the social media sensation made it through to the finale of the big-money showdown with her team of ‘Big Mo’ Malosi Togisala and Frankie Borelli.
The trio faced off against former Masters qualifier Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody ‘Beef’ Franke in a three versus three, alternate shot 18-hole match.
Golf glamour girl Paige Spiranac was accused of cheating during The Internet International
The influencer burst into tears after her opponents claimed she had improved a lie
Spiranac and co ultimately lost out of the $1million prize pot after Dalke, Ellis and Franke clinched victory on the final hole.
However, the former collegiate golfer’s lowest moment came long before the 18th, when she was accused of cheating earlier in the round.
Spiranac’s teammate Togisala hit an incredible approach shot out of deep, thick fescue which miraculously landed just off the green, despite the nasty lie.
The shot left their opponents and viewers stunned with Togisala being praised for the hit, until it emerged that Spiranac had attempted to improve his lie.
Portnoy was the first one to call her out, as he was heard saying, ‘Did Paige put that on a tee for you?’
English professional golf YouTuber Peter Finch then doubled down on the accusations, claiming to Spiranac and co’s rivals that she had stomped around in order to flatten the grass.
‘That lie in the rough there, it was s***,’ Finch said. ‘Paige has gone ahead to the ball and literally pressed down all the long grass in front so he could hit it out. But there’s no way he could have hit that shot without that.’
Despite winning the hole, Dalke, Ellis and Franke confronted Spiranac about the alleged cheating, which sparked emotional scenes from the influencer.
Spiranac, despite playing collegiately for the San Diego State Aztecs and professionally on the Cactus Tour, claimed that she ‘didn’t know you couldn’t do that.
She then burst into tears insisting that she ‘would never cheat,’ appearing unrecognizable as she sobbed on the green.
The social media sensation claimed she wasn’t aware that was against the rules
Spiranac, who is known for her racy snaps and skimpy outfits, has been radio silence since
Spiranac’s actions did in fact go against the rules of golf, specifically Rule 8.1, which centers around the player’s duty to play the course as they find it and to play the ball as it lies.
The rule prohibits players from moving, bending or breaking any growing or attached natural object, and altering the surface of the ground, which in Spiranac’s case would have been the flattening of the grass.
While her team lost the hole anyway, under normal competitive circumstances in match play the breach would have resulted in a loss of hole, while in stroke play it would have seen her slapped with a two-shot penalty.
Her teammate Borelli, a co-host of the ‘Fore Play’ podcast for Barstool Sports, responded to the cheating accusations during their latest episode.
‘I totally don’t think that she was trying to do anything specifically to help us win. There’s so many cameras out there. She’s been at this for so long,’ he said.
‘If you think that something that she had done crosses some sort of rule infraction, then like, I don’t know, people are allowed to have their own opinion. Do I think that she was trying to improve the lie? No. I also think that the footage probably doesn’t look the best.’
However, Spiranc herself has gone radio silent since the scandal erupted. Not only has she not publicly addressed the controversy but Spiranac, who is known for her racy snaps and skimpy outfits on Instagram, has not posted on the platform in three weeks.
