Internet Invitational Superlatives, Ep. 3: Grant Horvat’s MVP push, Fasoli’s legacy lives on and an all-time Team Green backfire
It’s hard to believe, but we’re officially halfway through the 2026 Internet Invitational. The battle lines have been drawn, the heroes (and heels) have emerged and golf influencers everywhere continue to have no idea who Jon Gruden is. Let’s get into it.
Biggest Backfire
Last week, a few of us at the office we’re talking about the 2025 Internet Invitational’s decision to redraft teams for each day of the tournament. In the end, II 2K25 delivered a nerve-wracking finish and plenty of inter-personal drama, so no harm no foul, but we wondered what would have happened if the teams had been left to evolve over the entire tournament, gelling together or chaffing against each other as the million-dollar grand prize drew closer.
Well, the early returns in 2026 suggest the redraft was in fact vital to maintaining the competitive integrity of the Internet Invitational. After episode two’s dramatic finish, in which Big John buried the match-winning putt for Team White on the second hole of a playoff, Robby Berger—a member of Team Green—petitioned Dave Portnoy to keep the teams the same for day two. Portnoy eventually agreed, but it was noted that Team White, at least on paper, looked vastly superior to Team Green. Unfortunately, that played out on the course as well, where Team White steamrolled Team Green 6-1 in the morning four-ball. Team Green failed to win a single match, and while we love Bobby Fairways—one of the straight-up best dudes on the Internet—his campaign for camaraderie may have cost himself and his team a shot at four million big ones.
Most likely not to know who Jon Gruden is
At last year’s Internet Invitational, Grant Horvat was caught red-handed not knowing who Jon Gruden was. This year that honor went to Calum McGinley, better known as Callux, who seemed all-caps SHOCKED to learn that the 50-something guy with the gravelly drawl he was playing against was in fact a Super Bowl-winning NFL head coach. Callux is English, so he gets more slack than Horvat, who lives a short drive up I-4 from the home of Gruden’s Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, but still, someone has to give these kids a proper lesson in football history before it’s too late.
The Fasoli Memorial Award for Cart Path Un-Excellence
Barstool cameraman Nick Fasoli was the sneaky MVP of the 2025 Internet Invitational. Not only was he working tirelessly behind the scenes, capturing all the footage for our greedy little eyeballs, he also became a viral star thanks to a couple of gaffes, including picking up a player’s ball and memorably veering off the cart path and plowing through a section of Big Cedar Lodge’s wooden fencing.
Thus, it’s with great excitement and honor that we announce “Security Mike” as the winner of the first-annual Fasoli Memorial Award for Cart-Path Un-Excellence. Taking a page out of Fasoli’s glove box in 2026, Mike high-sided his cart on a hill, before overcorrecting, blasting through another fence and fleeing the scene. Congratulations, Mike … but maybe next time it’s better if you to walk.
Grit Horvat
Through three episodes, the Internet Invitational MVP has to be Grant Horvat. The mild-mannered YouTube superstar tried to duck spotlight during the day-one playoff, but was talked into and ended up hitting a pressure-packed bunker shot to set up Big John’s viral birdie putt to win the match. As he said to David Portnoy after sticking his approach to 10 feet and draining a slippery right-to-left breaker on the final hole to halve his match against Cole Lantz and Seb on Golf, “I tried to stay away from it, but it just keeps finding me, man.” That may be true, but we’d also say Grit Horvat— as he will henceforth be known—has found it when it mattered most.
Kiz-on-Kiz Crime
A new wrinkle unveiled on day two was the Kevin Kisner Celebrity Shot. Each team was entitled to one shot from the slightly hungover four-time PGA Tour winner … both of which ended up coming on the same hole in the same match between Jon Gruden/Salim and PFT/Callux. Essentially, Salim revealed that they planned to use Kisner for the tee shot on the par-3 8th hole while one up in their match. That prompted PFT and Callux to fight fire with fire, also calling in Kiz for their shot.
That set up Kisner to essentially play against himself, with the advantage going to Team White as an ice-cold Kisner tee’d it up for Team Green first. Kisner misjudged the wind and came up short of the green with a 9-iron, so he clubbed up for his Team White shot and knocked it to 12 feet. White then two-putted for par to win the hole and put themselves two up with two to play. That’s chess not checkers, folks.
The Duke Moment of the Match
Jamming home a birdie putt on the $50,000 9th hole to take home 25 grand for himself and another 25 for his partner Bobby Ray. Safe to say, The Duke is living like a king right now.
The Duke Moment of the Match – Honorable Mention
Finding out Kevin Kisner’s first name is “Kevin” after calling him “Kenny” for the entirety of day one.