The Barstool Sports $1 million Internet Invitational had one if its winners tragically pass away. And now, a cheating scandal.
But to Barstool Sports founder and owner Dave Portnoy's credit, he has found a way to make casual fans care about golf in the dead season. Unfortunately for Spiranac, who boasts 6.7 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, it's not a great look at all.
And looking great is something the 32-year-old former San Diego State Aztecs standout is used to doing. At the Barstool Sports Internet Invitational, where Portnoy put up $1 million for the winning team consisting of YouTube and social media golf influencers with wide-ranging golf abilities, Spiranac has come under fire from golf fans everywhere.Celebrity Chefs and Friends golf tournament benefiting City Harvest is held at Alpine Country Club in Demarest on October 25, 2021. Former professional golfer Paige Spiranac. / Amy Newman-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORKOriginally played weeks ago before the passing of Cody "Beef" Franke, who was on the winning team alongside US Amateur champion Brad Dalke and Francis Ellis, Spiranac had made it to the finals with Frankie Borelli from Barstool and Malosi Togisala from "Good Good."Earlier in the round, Togisala hits an incredible shot out of the deep fescue, much to the chagrin of the opposing team and the astonishment of those watching live.There is only one problem. It looks like Spiranac improves the lie for her teammate, which is a big no-no.English pro golf YouTuber Peter Finch adds, "That lie in the rough there, it was s**t. 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."Spiranac is obviously annoyed when it's brought to her attention, "I thought you could do that."Borelli lost the match on a skulled chip, which was the first clip to go viral from the final episode.Spiranac, for her part, got out in front of it in an emotional, crying outburst that she originally shared on her Instagram Stories that we originally covered without knowing the context, blaming it solely on a truly awful troll. "There's more important things than wanting to be liked," Spiranac said after addressing the hateful message. "But I do want to be liked. And I want to fit in, and I've tried for a lot of my life to find places where I can fit in."We don't know what was agreed to as far as tournament rules, especially given it was a team-play format. Not to mention it's Barstool, so there is always a huge entertainment factor.It feels like Portnoy could have left this controversy out of the final edit, especially given it didn't effect the outcome. Now Spiranac is under fire.Paige Spiranac watches her teammates putt on the No. 6 green during the 2023 Kaulig Companies Championship Pro-Am at Firestone Country Club, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Akron, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORKMatthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win . He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.
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