Paige Spiranac returning to $4 million Internet Invitational — after last year’s ended in cheating controversy and death threats

Nypost · 🇮🇷 public Iran · Jun 01, 2026 · 360 words · By Ryan Giancola

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What to know about Paige Spiranac returning to $4 million Internet Invitational — after last year’s ended in cheating controversy and death threats

The Internet Invitational is returning with an even bigger prize pool — and one of the most popular players is also returning.

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The Internet Invitational is returning with an even bigger prize pool — and one of the most popular players is also returning.

Why it matters

Former professional golfer turned influencer Paige Spiranac was featured in last year’s edition of the golf tournament hosted by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports.

Common ground

She and her team made it to the championship, but ultimately lost on the 18th hole.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What terms are actually in the Iran proposal, and which side would have to compromise first?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that this year’s tourney, which has quadrupled its prize pool from $1 million to $4 million?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/01/sports/paige-spiranac-competing-in-4-million-inter…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

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Claim 1: “this year’s tourney, which has quadrupled its prize pool from $1 million to $4 million.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources refer to the 'returning to $4 million Internet Invitational', implying the current prize pool is $4 million.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Internet Invitational is a golf tournament conducted by the Barstool Sports and YouTuber Bob Does Sports. It features various social media golf personalities such as Paige Spiranac, Grant Horvat, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Invitational

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Luke Kwon (born August 11, 1992) is a South Korean and American professional golfer and YouTube content creator who plays on the PGA Tour China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Kwon

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Paige Renee Spiranac ( spi-RANAK; born March 26, 1993) is an American model, golf instructor, former professional golfer and social media personality. She played NCAA Division I golf at both the Unive…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paige_Spiranac

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “After the tournament, Spiranac took a roughly two-week break from posting on social media due to the harassment she received online.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While evidence mentions she has faced harassment and bullying in general, there is no specific evidence in the provided text confirming a two-week social media break specifically following this tournament.

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web search NEUTRAL — Paige Spiranac claps back at her haters. Trolling on social media has become very common nowadays. One of the golf Instagram accounts decided to post a meme with Spiranac’s picture with the caption, “…
https://www.essentiallysports.com/golf-news-when-paige-spira…

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web search NEUTRAL — How Influencer and Golfer Paige Spiranac Shines Her Authentic, Positive Light to Others. With two million followers on Instagram and over 94,000 subscribers on YouTube, you can’t ignore the endearing …
https://localemagazine.com/paige-spiranac-shares-the-fore-1-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The social media star, who boasts over 4million followers on Instagram, keeps her love life private from her mass of adoring fans. But in a rare look behind the curtain, Spiranac has opened up on marr…
https://inthebunker.co.uk/in-the-rough/horrible-and-harassin…

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Claim 3: “Former professional golfer turned influencer Paige Spiranac was featured in last year’s edition of the golf tournament hosted by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Paige Spiranac participated in the Internet Invitational hosted by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports, including Yahoo Sports and Wikipedia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Steven Grant Horvat (born August 24, 1998), is an American golfer and YouTuber. A former Division II collegiate player, Horvat won the Creator Classic 2 in 2025. He has been invited to multiple PGA To…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Horvat

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Spiranac was caught on camera flattening the grass in front of the lie.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly state that Spiranac was caught on camera flattening grass in front of a ball's lie (or her teammate's ball).

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... The controversy occurred during the final round of the made-for-streaming event, when Spiranac was accused of cheating after English pro golfer ...
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/paige-spiranac-returns-internet-in…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “will again feature 48 competitors.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence confirms the existence of the tournament and participants, but does not specify the number of competitors as 48.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Internet phenomena are social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet, such as Internet memes, which include popular catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_phenomena

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is known as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Many golfers pointed to Rule 8, which states that golfers must play the course as found and make no modifications.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The R&A source explicitly confirms that Rule 8 covers the principle of 'play the course as you find it'.

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web search NEUTRAL — So long as the player does what can be reasonably expected under the circumstances to make an accurate determination, the player's reasonable judgment will be ...
https://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-clarifications/rules-an…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 10, 2026 ... No, rotating a golf ball without lifting it is NOT permitted, if you touch it deliberately without marking its position first, it's a 1 shot ...
https://www.facebook.com/GolfDigest/posts/the-rules-of-golf-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Purpose of Rule: Rule 8 covers a central principle of the game: “play the course as you find it”. When the player's ball comes to rest, they normally have ...
https://www.randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-8

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Claim 7: “Spiranac admitted to her mistake but said it was unintentional.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that Spiranac addressed the controversy, describing the incident as an 'unintentional error'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 · She was accused of cheating during the event, stemming from one shot. After one of her teammates hit a shot that landed in the rough, Spiranac ...
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/paige-spiranac-returning-4…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 · She described the incident as an unintentional error that occurred in a high-pressure moment, emphasizing that there was no intent to gain an ...
https://www.facebook.com/61579633560780/posts/paige-spiranac…

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web search NEUTRAL — She was accused of cheating during the event, stemming from one shot. After one of her teammates hit a shot that landed in the rough, Spiranac was caught on ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/paige-spiranac-returning-4-mill…

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Claim 8: “She and her team made it to the championship, but ultimately lost on the 18th hole.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While evidence confirms her participation and a controversy during the final round, the specific detail about losing on the 18th hole is not explicitly detailed across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.