Popular golf influencer Paige Spiranac has publicly addressed the devastating fallout from a recent tournament controversy, revealing she received tens of thousands of death threats after being accused of cheating.
The Incident That Sparked the Backlash
The controversy erupted during the final match of Barstool Sports’ Internet Invitational tournament this summer. Spiranac was filmed pressing down the long grass in front of the ball of her playing partner, Malosi Togisala. While her team ultimately lost the $1 million prize, she was accused of improving Togisala’s lie, an action considered a penalty under the official rules of golf.
The incident, which was posted online earlier this month, prompted a fierce reaction on social media. Spiranac broke her silence on her Instagram Story, stating she was “painfully embarrassed” and had not realised her action was a rules violation.
A Torrent of Online Abuse
During a Q&A session, Spiranac detailed the severity of the hate she has faced. “I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself,” she revealed. She described the messages as “the most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual,” adding that the situation had become so serious that she and her team discussed obtaining a restraining order.
She explained her initial silence on the allegations, stating she needed to remove herself from the backlash for the sake of her mental health. Spiranac, who has been in the sport for a decade, confirmed this past week brought the “worst hate” she has ever received.
Clarifications and Context
Spiranac vehemently denied any intent to cheat. “I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating,” she said. “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. I learned now that it was a rules infraction, and I’ll never do it again.”
In a separate development, her playing partner, Malosi Togisala, also faced accusations during the tournament for allegedly using the slope option on his rangefinder, which was against the rules. Togisala addressed this on the Good Good Podcast, claiming his group wasn't informed about the no-slope rule until after the first hole, at which point he turned the feature off.
The six-episode series of the tournament, overseen by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, was released on YouTube this month, bringing the summer incident back into the spotlight and fuelling the online firestorm that Spiranac is now confronting.
