Paige Spiranac is used to people talking about her, but she probably didn’t expect a simple golf event to turn into this kind of mess. A short clip of her lining up a putt at the Internet Invitational suddenly had people saying she cheated. At first, it felt like just another small social‑media argument.
But things didn’t stay small. The debate around the clip kept growing, and the tone online got a lot darker. What should’ve been a fun moment from a casual event turned into a whole new level of criticism.
How A Simple Golf Invitational Clip Sparked Accusations Paige Never Expected
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It all kicked off during the final round of the $1 million Internet Invitational. The broadcast showed two different cheating situations, and Paige ended up at the center of one of them. Her team, Paige Spiranac, Frankie Borrelli, and Malosi “Mo” Togisala, was facing Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis, and Cody “Beef” Franke in a three on three alternate shot match.
The moment that sparked the drama came on the ninth hole. Video showed Spiranac tamping down tall grass near Togisala’s ball, which some viewers interpreted as “improving the lie,” a rules violation under official golf standards. As clips and screenshots spread across social media, the small action ignited a full-blown cheating debate. Paige looked genuinely shaken when she addressed it. She said, “I thought you could do that,” and even started crying as the claims piled up.
And that moment instantly led to the second big controversy of the pre recorded tournament, which was a joint Barstool and Bob Does Sports production. Togisala had already been accused in an earlier round of using the slope reading feature on his range finder, something that isn’t allowed. He denied it both times, but footage from the cart showed him fidgeting with the device right before Dave Portnoy and others were planning to check it.
“Hand to God, I was not using the slope. I swear,” Togisala said. But many golf influencers watching the footage thought it looked pretty obvious. Since the episode aired Thursday night, Togisala hasn’t posted anything about the situation on his social feeds.
The Internet’s Explosive Reaction Became Far More Disturbing Than The Original Controversy
This is when things turned even darker. Instead of letting the drama fade, the internet went into full attack mode. Paige broke her silence through a series of Instagram Stories, and what she shared was honestly tough to hear. “The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the ten years of me doing this,” Spiranac said.
“I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, 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 also addressed the actual rule at the center of the cheating claim. “I am painfully, painfully embarrassed that I did not know this rule. I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating.”
She added, “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, learned now that it was a rules infraction, and I’ll never do it again.”
The situation also highlighted how quickly online discussions can escalate. What started as a minor rules issue grew into days of intense backlash that moved far beyond the original moment on the course. The response on social media became its own separate issue, drawing far more attention than the clip itself.
Published: Nov 26, 2025 03:30 pm