The Feed: Controversial ‘Zapruder film’ moment can’t mar the feel-good success of the Internet Invitational
After a three-week vice grip on the world of YouTube golf, the Internet Invitational reached its lucrative (and controversial) conclusion this week. Did it live up to its pomp, circumstance and promise? Could a bunch of average golfers keep it together with seven figures on the table? There's only one way to find out …
The End of the Line
Over the past several weeks, an interesting dissonance has been brewing. On professional tours across the world, the planet’s best golfers have been scrapping and scraping to keep their cards, and thus, their livelihoods. It’s hard to imagine higher stakes than that, and yet all eyes have been on the Internet Invitational—a made-for-YouTube pressure cooker at an Ozarks bachelor party mecca featuring amateur golfers who ply their trade on a platform 75% of people watch on the toilet. That may sound dismissive, but it’s not meant to be. If anything, it’s a testament to the seemingly universal golf experience the Internet Invitational has tapped into.
This week, the inaugural influencer Masters rattled to its $1-million-dollar conclusion with the airing of its final two episodes. Vibes got tenser and moods got chippier. There were cheating allegations and tears (actually, lots of tears). While it sucks that great golf once again boiled down to rules minutiae and one golfer’s word against another, in a strange way the drama reinforced the aspirational escapism that has made the Internet Invitational such a hit. “There’s chaos going on all around me,” finalist Frankie “Butter Knives” Borrelli says at one point. “But I’m just trying to hit 5-woods.” If that doesn’t sum up golf for the vast majority of us, what does?
We’re not going to sit here and give you the blow-by-blow. Partly because we don’t want to spoil it and partly because you’ve probably already watched it. Mostly though, it’s a lot more interesting to ask the following question:
Where does the Internet Invitational go from here and how—if at all—does it change the landscape of YouTube golf?
If pro golf has taught us anything, the answer to the first part of that of question is simple. It goes further. More players. More tournaments. More money. It would be great if this remained an annual yearly event we got to anticipate all year and celebrate like like a holiday when it finally arrived, a la the Masters. But due to the success of the Internet Invitational—which has racked up 20 million views and counting over the course of its six-episode run—we’ll likely see a wave imitators that either omit the soul, skimp on the production or perpetrate some combination of both. Take ‘em or leave ‘em, Barstool Sports practically invented the digital sports content game and Bob Does Sports is probably the most universally liked (and entertaining) YouTube golf channel going. That magic will be hard to replicate for anyone … even Barstool and Bob Does Sports.
Then there’s the money. Dave Portnoy was itching to raise the stakes throughout the Internet Invitational, but no one took the bait. You can bet he won’t let that happen again. If and when the Internet Invitational returns, you can bet there will be more money on the line and that somebody will take Portnoy up on one of his all-or-nothing wagers. With more money will come more stress, more motivation to bend the rules (as we saw in the finale, that can get ugly in a hurry) and more similarities to professional golf, which the YouTube space is supposed to be an antidote to.
But those are bridges to cross down the road. For now, people will be pouring over Malosi Togisala’s Zapruder-like rangefinder footage, celebrating breakout stars like Chazzy and taking a few more pot shots at Luke Kwon. The fact we will still be talking about all these things weeks from now is proof that the Internet Invitational has staying power that extends far beyond its YouTube roots.
All of that could be wrong. Heck, the sun might not even come up tomorrow. But if it doesn’t and the Internet Invitational ends here, at least it did so on an amazing note as Barstool’s own Cody ‘Beef’ Franke walked away a winner. Beef, who planned to pay off his parents’ house with portion of the winner’s purse, passed away at the age of 31 two weeks ago, but his positivity, grit and earnestness will live on in these videos forever. If the Internet Invitational is remembered for one thing, let it be that.
Quick Hits
Good Good Girls
Let’s all give a warm welcome to Good Good Girls, the new women’s golf-focused channel from the minds that brought you Good Good. While there are plenty successful female golf influencers—Paige Spiranac almost singlehandedly invented the genre—they aren’t platformed in quite the same way men are, and Good Good Girls seems like an awesome step in that direction. This week the channel’s four main sticks—Hadley Walts, Yoonhee Kim, Alexis Miestowski and Marissa Wenzle—make their debut with a fun match against Good Good’s Y-chromosome squad. If you’re searching for the next big trend in YouTube golf, give it a watch, because GGG might be on to something here.
Good Good Guys
The best Good Good Golf has to offer take on three of the Longhorns’ finest. The game within the game is the real draw here, as Good Good’s now-Internet-famous Brad Dalke won a national championship with Texas’ blood rival, the Oklahoma Sooners, in 2017.
Peter Finch
The Internet Invitational alum squares off against PGA Tour pro Scott Stallings. Finch is one of the best players in the YouTube-verse, but how does his game compare to a three-time tour winner? Hit that play button and find out.
Bryson DeChambeau
The two-time major champ takes on “amateur golfer” (DeChambeau’s words) Grant Horvat with a set of rental clubs. This is what you get for interrupting his vacation, Horvat.
Grant Horvat
Grant was a busy boy this week, also attempting to beat Nelly Korda while playing from the same tees as the World No. 2. This dude is a glutton for punishment.
Luke Kwon
The embattled Internet Invitational villain celebrates “day 2 of waking up for my tee time” while attempting to make the cut at the Singapore Open. At least he has a sense of humor about it … right??
LeBron James
Move over Migos, LeBron James just discovered YouTube golf. This may be the end of the medium as we know it, so enjoy it while it lasts.