Paige Spiranac was involved in a rules controversy during the high-stakes Internet Invitational tournament earlier this year, and many fans who watched what unfolded are convinced she was guilty.
The Internet Invitational brought together a collection of 48 influencers and internet personalities, many of whom earn a living through YouTube golf. The tournament, which was played in August at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo, was organized by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports. It was turned into a six-part series with episodes that were released over the last two weeks.
Spiranac played well in the event and reached the final match, where she teamed up with Frankie Borrelli and Malosi “Mo” Togisala against the trio of Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody “Beef” Franke, who died unexpectedly at the age of 31 last month. The latter team won and split the $1 million prize.
The final episode of the Internet Invitational series was released on Friday, and it featured a couple of different controversies. One took place on the 9th hole when Spiranac was accused of improving a lie for teammate Togisala. When questioned about whether she pressed down a tuft of grass that was near Togisala’s ball, Spiranac claimed she thought that was within the rules. She then began crying and said she doesn’t “want people to think that I would try to cheat.” You can see the video here.
Spiranac was a professional golfer before she began focusing on modeling and social media as a career. That is why many fans found it hard to believe she did not know a basic golf rule about improving a player’s lie.
#internetinvitational lost a lot of respect for Paige Spiranac. She chirped at a competitor they’ve never played competitive golf then claims she didn’t know she couldn’t improve her lie in the heather and cries after being called out. She’s a professional, she knows the rules.
— Jerred Wolfe (@jerredwolfe) November 14, 2025
Paige bringing the tears like an academy award winner does not make anyone that plays golf believe that she didn’t know it was against the rules.
— Original Beavin (@Beavin1962) November 14, 2025
.@PaigeSpiranac chirping about competitive golf and then crying when shes cheating is all time hilarious moment #internetinvitational
— Joey Privett Jr (@JPriv13) November 14, 2025
Didn’t she play competitively?
— Stevie Ray Yawn (@MobileStrobel) November 14, 2025
Did a golfer literally say she didn't know she couldn't do that?? YIKES!!
— Clyde Elliott (@4realClyde) November 14, 2025
After one of the episodes of the Internet Invitational was released last week, Spiranac said she had been receiving hate messages from fans. She became emotional while talking in a social media video about the negative feedback she has heard from fans.
Spiranac has more than 4 million followers on Instagram and is usually very active. She had not posted anything about the final episode of the Internet Invitational as of Friday afternoon, which probably was not a coincidence.
