Internet Invitational Finale Has Controversy, Tears

Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for how the Internet Invitational ends.

As if the scriptwriters were pulling the strings behind the scenes, the sixth and final episode of the Internet Invitational was full of controversy and theatrics.

Manufactured or not, much of the online golf community was glued to YouTube on Thursday night as the tournament—produced by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports—delivered more entertainment than anyone could have reasonably asked for.

The 48-person event was based on team competition all the way through, cutting the field in half until only six players remained. It left a 3v3 18-hole alternate shot match with $1 million going to the victors.

On one side was Creator Classic winner Brad Dalke (Good Good), Francis Ellis (Barstool) and the late Cody “Beef” Franke (Barstool) who was a part of the event prior to passing away last month at the age of 31.

On the other side was Frankie Borrelli (Barstool), influencer Paige Spiranac and Malosi Togisala (Good Good).

Here is what went down during the final round at Big Cedar Lodge’s Payne’s Valley Golf Course near Branson, Mo.

Dalke, Ellis and Beef prevailed

Early in the match, Beef is asked what he would do with the money if his team wins.

“I would donate some to charity and I think I would pay off my parents’ house,” he said.

Those words took on extra meaning when his team finished with a 1-up victory, Beef’s eyes welling up with tears on the 18th green.

Incredibly, Beef hit the first and last shot of the tournament (petition to rename this the Beef Invitational?). The video concludes with a tribute to him. I didn’t make it through without crying.

The match itself was a barnburner as both teams wrestled back and forth. The extra-volatile format of alternate-shot match play (with a wide range of handicaps involved) gave the feeling that nobody was out of it.

Dalke, the clear ace of the field, carried his trio to a 2-up lead with three holes to play. Some sloppy play on the par-3 16th and par-4 17th pushed the match to all square heading to the par-5 18th.

The story of the final hole was Borrelli, who struggled for most of the round. He pulled his drive into the weeds, putting his group in a tough spot. Then, needing an up-and-down to save par, Borrelli bladed his pitch across the green and into the water.

Moments later, handshakes were exchanged.

Spiranac caused some controversy

The match got off to an odd start on the first hole.

Spiranac’s team had a short but testy par putt while Dalke’s squad was looking at a 10-footer for bogey. The par putt wasn’t conceded prior to the bogey putt being attempted.

Spiranac then quipped: “That just shows you’ve never played competitive golf.”

It was a very short putt. However, Dalke mentioned there was a lot of slope. Given that everyone outside of Dalke is far from a professional golfer, it’s reasonable to ask to see that putt.

Ellis missed the bogey putt anyway, making it a moot point.

That quote about competitive golf came back to bite Spiranac later in the round on the ninth hole when her team was getting ready to hit a shot out of the thick rough.

Spiranac was seen on video trampling down grass directly in front of the ball, allowing the shot to be played. Her team lost the hole but she was still told about the rules infraction a hole later.

That led to her saying she didn’t know it was against the rules, directly contradicting her supposed competitive golf experience she was bragging about at the beginning of the match.

Spiranac played college and pro golf. That she didn’t know a fairly standard rule is hard to believe.

But it wasn’t the only controversy

Spiranac’s partner, Togisala, was involved in another controversy.

Earlier in the tournament, Micah Morris called him out for potentially having the slope function on his rangefinder turned on, which is against USGA rules. It would be very helpful to have at a course like Payne’s Valley where elevation changes are everywhere.

During the final round, the “rules official” Dave Portnoy did a check of everyone’s rangefinder to see if the slope was turned on. Togisala appeared to grab his rangefinder and turn the slope off prior to handing it to Portnoy.

Ultimately, the match went on without penalty because there was no way to definitively prove that is what happened. It was up to Togisala’s word.

It might have been an honest mistake but it looked scummy.

The Internet Invitational eclipsed 20 million views

My final impressions of the Internet Invitational are overwhelmingly positive. Easily a 10/10. Please make this an annual event.

This won’t be for everyone. I get that it’s reality TV adjacent. You can call it contrived and I wouldn’t disagree with you.

But, hey, it was wildly entertaining. Each episode had a little of everything.

As of this writing, the six episodes have combined for more than 20 million views.

Obviously, this isn’t the exact equivalent of a live professional golf tournament but these videos will also have a home on YouTube for a very long time.

The exposure, format, production—all of it was highly impressive. Top-tier YouTube golf content.

What did you think of the Internet Invitational? Let me know in the comments.