Paige Spiranac breaks silence over cheating allegations at Internet Invitational

Paige Spiranac has broken her silence after claiming she received “tens of thousands” of death threats in the wake of cheating allegations levelled at her during Barstool Sports’ Internet Invitational golf tournament.

The golf influencer came under fire after footage from the viral YouTube series showed her pressing down long grass in front of playing partner Malosi Togisala’s ball — an action immediately spotted and challenged by rival competitors, including Peter Finch. The allegations of "cheating" reduced Paige to tears. 

After disappearing from social media for several weeks, Spiranac, 32, returned on Tuesday with a series of Instagram Stories to address the backlash, saying the past fortnight had been the worst abuse she has faced in a decade online.

“The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the 10 years of me doing this,” said Spiranac. 

“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.”

Spiranac said the volume and severity of the messages forced her to step back from her accounts to protect her wellbeing.

“I know people are wondering why I haven’t posted or why I haven’t talked about it, I just needed to remove myself for my mental health,” she explained.

“One thing that I really struggle with is wanting to be liked and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to ever dislike me, and I always try to do everything I can to have people like me… but luckily, having a good support system, family around and just trying to stay distracted.”

The incident itself unfolded on camera during play, with Spiranac becoming visibly emotional after being told she had committed a rules infraction. She insisted then — and again this week — that she had no idea the action was illegal.

“I am painfully, painfully embarrassed that I did not know this rule,” she said. 

“I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating. 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.”

Watch the controversy unfold here: 

Spiranac and Togisala ultimately lost their match on the 18th hole following a separate cheating controversy involving her partner. 

The six-episode tournament, filmed over the summer, began streaming in October — unleashing the delayed backlash Spiranac is now responding to.

Despite the intensity of the past few days, she ended her message by thanking those who had reached out in support.

“It’s been an interesting week and a half, but I just want to thank everyone for reaching out, asking me how I’m doing, all the support, really means so much to me,” concluded Spiranac.

In more positive news for Paige, she released her 2026 calendar to her fans this week.

She couldn't help but mock herself over the cheating allegations in the process: