Golf influencer Paige Spiranac thought she'd finally found a place where hard work and talent mattered.
Then the trolls came crawling out from behind their keyboards.
And Paige Spiranac left in tears after one hateful message exposed this ugly truth about golf.
Spiranac competed in Barstool Sports' first-ever Internet Invitational — a tournament bringing together 48 golf influencers and content creators at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri for a shot at more than $1 million in prize money.¹
The event featured a Ryder Cup-style format with teams competing across five days in August.²
But instead of celebrating her participation, Spiranac faced a vicious wave of attacks that left her sobbing on camera.
She posted screenshots on Instagram showing the kind of hate she received.
One direct message read: "I f***ing hate you. You stupid b**** think you're so much better than everyone at the Internet Invitational. Go kill yourself, you stupid c**."³
https://twitter.com/PaigeSpiranac/status/1985457581289099598
The coward who sent that message? Probably sitting in his parents' basement.
Spiranac put in the work while haters sat on the sidelines
Here's what actually happened at the Internet Invitational that has jealous trolls so fired up.
Spiranac didn't just show up to compete — she spent more than 70 hours creating spreadsheets to track match results and help the entire tournament run smoothly.⁴
She was drafted third overall by Frankie Borrelli onto Team Orange because she was already helping with the draft and pairings behind the scenes.⁵
While other competitors were relaxing, Spiranac was doing unpaid administrative work to make sure the event didn't descend into chaos.
"At the Internet Invitational, I was really excited because I felt like I could fit in in the industry," she explained in an emotional Instagram story.⁶
She was excited to be part of something bigger.
Then she watched the episodes back and saw how trolls were twisting every moment to tear her down.
Spiranac's partner Roger Steele had some old beef with competitor Jake Adams that played out on camera.⁷
When Spiranac complained about how long Adams took over a shot — the kind of thing competitors say to each other all the time — the hate mob pounced.⁸
She also apologized for an off-camera comment about another player's golf skills.⁹
But by then it didn't matter what she said or did.
The trolls had decided she was the villain.
"It's confirmation that, no, you're actually not liked, you're annoying, and no one likes you. And you suck, and you're terrible, and all these things," Spiranac said through tears. "It's just hard because you felt good in that moment… then it's like, just kidding."¹⁰
Social media keyboard warriors go after successful people
This is what social media has become — a weapon for jealous nobodies to attack people actually doing something with their lives.
Spiranac has millions of followers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok because she works hard and creates content people want to watch.
She's a former college golfer who turned herself into one of the biggest names in golf media.
That kind of success breeds jealousy.
And social media gives cowards a megaphone to spew hatred from behind anonymous accounts.
"I struggled socially my entire life… in big groups of people, making friends, keeping friends, relating to other people, reading social cues, saying the right thing at the right time," she admitted.¹¹
Think about that for a second.
Here's someone who built a massive following, created a career in a male-dominated sport, and is invited to compete for $1 million — and trolls convinced her she's not good enough.
"I know it might sound weird considering what I do, but I'm just not effortlessly liked," she said.¹²
The mob had her questioning everything she'd accomplished.
Studies show that up to 58 percent of people with public profiles deal with this kind of coordinated harassment online.¹³
For anyone trying to build something in the public eye, the attacks are relentless.
Women get hit particularly hard — trolls know that personal attacks about appearance, likability, and whether someone "belongs" cut deeper than critiques of someone's actual work.¹⁴
But this isn't really about gender.
It's about success.
The same trolls went after Spiranac for working too hard on the tournament logistics — claiming she was trying to game the system by helping organize the event.¹⁵
She literally put in 70+ hours of unpaid work to help others, and got attacked for it.
You can't win with these people.
Work hard? You're trying too hard.
Compete and win? You think you're better than everyone.
Help organize? You're rigging the system.
The goal is to tear down anyone who achieves something they never could.
Spiranac bounced back but the damage was done
By Tuesday morning, Spiranac recovered enough to post an update thanking supporters.
"Hi, good morning, sorry for being emo last night, but thank you again for all the super kind messages," she wrote. "I'll save my deep dark insecurities for therapy next time lol."¹⁶
Fans immediately rallied to her defense.
"Gross and untrue! The golf world is better with you in it!" one supporter wrote.¹⁷
Another added: "You have one of the most benign, harmless, positive accounts out there. I don't get the hate."¹⁸
The real fans — the ones who actually watch her content and appreciate the work she puts in — know exactly what happened here.
A successful woman competed in a high-profile tournament, worked her tail off behind the scenes to help make it successful, and got attacked by jealous trolls who can't stand seeing someone else win.
Social media companies let it happen because outrage and conflict drive engagement.
And engagement drives advertising dollars.
The platforms could crack down on coordinated harassment campaigns.
They could ban accounts that send death threats.
They could protect people who are actually contributing something instead of letting anonymous cowards run wild.
But they won't.
Because the chaos is profitable.
Spiranac exposed the ugly truth about what social media has become — a weapon for bitter failures to attack anyone brave enough to put themselves out there and try to build something.
The trolls didn't win though.
https://twitter.com/PaigeSpiranac/status/1985702393984450574
Spiranac is still standing, still creating content, and still succeeding despite everything they threw at her.
That's what actually drives them crazy.
¹ "Is There Any Prize Money at the Barstool Sports Internet Invitational 2025?," EssentiallySports, October 29, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "Paige Spiranac emotional as she exposes hateful comments received during $1M Internet Invitational," Fox News, November 4, 2025.
⁴ "Paige Spiranac Finally Addresses the Controversy That Sparked Backlash at Internet Invitational," EssentiallySports, November 4, 2025.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ "Paige Spiranac emotional as she exposes hateful comments received during $1M Internet Invitational," Fox News, November 4, 2025.
⁷ "Paige Spiranac gives details on 'unresolved beef' at $1 million Internet Invitational," Yahoo Sports, October 31, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ "Paige Spiranac Issues Apology to Fellow Influencer as Awkward Moment from $1M Golf Invitational Goes Viral," EssentiallySports, October 29, 2025.
¹⁰ "Paige Spiranac emotional as she exposes hateful comments received during $1M Internet Invitational," Fox News, November 4, 2025.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ "Creating safe digital spaces free of trolls, doxing, and hate speech," UN Women, November 2023.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ "Paige Spiranac Finally Addresses the Controversy That Sparked Backlash at Internet Invitational," EssentiallySports, November 4, 2025.
¹⁶ "Paige Spiranac Overwhelmed by 'Kind Messages' After Emotional Meltdown Went Viral," EssentiallySports, November 4, 2025.
¹⁷ "Paige Spiranac Shares 'Disgusting' Message From One Of Her Fans," Yahoo Sports, November 3, 2025.
¹⁸ Ibid.