Paige Spiranac talks ‘death threats’ after Internet Invitational

The Internet Invitational put Paige Spiranac in a bad light, and she said she received a lot of hate afterward.

Spiranac was part of the final group of the 48-person tournament of golf influencers and YouTubers hosted by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports. She was paired with Frankie Borrelli of Barstool and Malosi Togisala of Good Good Golf against Brad Dalke of Good Good, and Cody “Beefe” Franke and Frances Ellis of Barstool.

Spiranac’s team lost the $1 million prize on the 18th hole of the final match, and many viewers considered it karma after Spiranac and Togisala were involved in cheating scandals. Spiranac was filmed enhancing a lie during the final match, saying she thought it was allowed and then started crying. It was later assumed that Togisala had used the slope on his rangefinder – rangefinders were allowed, but using slope was not.

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Spiranac, who became testy at the start of the championship by criticizing Ellis for not playing “competitive golf” before, said she had received “tens of thousands of death threats” since the championship match was posted on YouTube in what has been “an interesting week.”

“The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the 10 years I’ve been doing this,” Spiranac said on his Instagram story. “I’m talking about tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, the most vile, horrible things you could say to an individual, it was in my DMs to the point where we were talking about me needing to potentially get a restraining order. I mean, it’s a serious thing. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy.”

Spiranac has remained noticeably silent on social media since the championship match ended.

Paige Spiranac attends the 2025 US Open with Maestro Dobel Tequila, the “Official Tequila” of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2025, in New York. (Anna Webber/Getty Images for Maestro Dobel Tequila)

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“I know people are wondering why I didn’t post or why I didn’t talk about it. I just needed to step away for my sanity,” she said.

“One thing I really struggle with is wanting to be loved and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to hate me, and I always try to do everything I can to have people like me. And so, it’s just hard for me as a person with the way I deal with things and obviously the situation hasn’t been easy either. But luckily, having a good support system, a family around and just trying to stay distracted.”

Spiranac again claimed to not know the rules for enhancing lies, saying she would never intentionally cheat.

“I’m painfully, painfully embarrassed that I didn’t know this rule…” she said in an Instagram Story, alluding to the karma that hit her for her comments about Ellis. “I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of golf, I have never been accused of cheating. There were so many cameras on me, blatantly cheating with that many people around, that many cameras around, would be insane. So, I made a mistake, I have learned now that it was a rule violation, and I will never do it again.”

Paige Spiranac plays the 17th green during the Creator Classic at the Philly Cricket Club, prior to the Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club on May 7, 2025, in Flourtown Philadelphia. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

The event was filmed over the summer at Cedar Lodge Resort in Ridgedale, Missouri, with the final match taking place at Payne’s Valley. Franke, one of the winners, died earlier this month.

Spiranac was one of several former pros in the field, including Dalke and Wesley Brian.