Internet Invitational Superlatives, Ep. 6: Salim 'The Dream' becomes a nightmare and Riggs gets his revenge
Well folks, the Internet Invitational has come and gone once again. There were high highs, low lows and a Payne’s Valley waterfall of tequila shots, but at end of the day, only one team walked away with the four million big ones. Though the 2026 finale lacked the competitive fireworks of 2025 edition, the drama between the ears was off the charts, so let’s get into it.
Worst Hangover
You know where we’re going with this one: Salim. The storyline of the final was Salim crashing out of “the zone” like a bullet train flying off the rails. Our own Chris Powers smelled it coming, pointing to Salim’s incredible blacked-out play in the semifinal, and his subsequent social media post revealing he was now on day 87 of a 90-day sober challenge.
“I can't help but wonder why Whitney and Big John are not trying to keep this guy in check a little more,” Powers wrote on Tuesday. “In the final episode, the Red team of Salim, Whitney and Big John are going back out for 18 holes of alternate shot, match play in the afternoon. Salim already seems blackout drunk, and he's showing no signs of stopping.”
As it turned out, he didn’t stop and the finale became less a battle between red and blue than a battle between Salim and his BAC. Teammates Ryan Whitney and Big John did their best to manage Salim’s emotions, alignment and reads, but unfortunately their fate was sealed in the morning semis when they couldn't stop Salim from topping off an already full tank. It also didn’t help that they didn’t take driver out of his hands until the back nine as Salim yanked three tee shots halfway to Tulsa. For all those reasons and more, we doubt anyone woke up the next day with a worse headache than Salim “The Dream.”
The Father Figure
Last year, in the wake of Frankie Borrelli’s emotional collapse and Cody “Beef” Franke’s inspiring victory, Shane Ryan wrote that the Internet Invitational was a story about father figures, good, bad and toxic. Focusing on Dave Portnoy’s constant needling of Borrelli, as well as the more supportive attitude of champion Brad Dalke, Ryan wrote, “What became the dominant metaphor for the whole event by the time it finished, was the emergence of several surrogate dads from the larger group. Some of those dads were incredible, some were questionable and one was nightmarish.”
Interestingly, the same thesis still applied in 2026. There were the absent fathers, like Peter Finch who was called out by Jason Williams for being a terrible captain, the toxic dads (Portnoy again, only this time to Riggs) and the patriarchs who rose to meet the challenge, namely Ryan Whitney. I was pretty unimpressed by Whitney’s reaction to Luke Kwon oversleeping his tee time in 2025. He tore Kwon to pieces in front of the entire cafeteria like a bully instead of pulling him to the side for a man-to-man. It was ultimately left to Jon Gruden to repair the morale with a rousing speech that welcomed Kwon back into the group instead of ostracizing him.
In this year's finale, however, Whitney turned over a new leaf, spending practically the entire round with an arm around Salim, supporting his teammate's increasingly fragile psyche and coaching him through every pivotal shot, all while playing out of his freaking skin. Personally, I would have buried Salim up to his neck in a bunker and left him to the buzzards, and not just because I’m like Portnoy about hugging (miss me with that sh*t thanks). But Whitney showed patience and empathy, and for that he earns our first-annual Father of the Invitational award. Congrats, Whit. It’s not $1.3 million, but it will have to do for now.
Most Hugs
Speaking of hugs, nobody asked for or got more—possibly in all of human history—than Salim. Moral of the story in both golf and life: People will always love you if they think you can win them $1.3 milly.
Best Buds
That’s pretty cynical, so let's cheer things up a bit by talking about friendship. It’s worth saying that Kyle Foregeard’s support of his buddy Salim's quirks was genuine and endearing. But far and away the best buddy duo to emerge for the 2026 Internet Invitational was Chazzy and Justin Gaethje.
In the final episode, they rode together as spectators, enjoying each other’s company like old pals that hadn’t seen each other in years. They joked, they bickered like hens, they made plans for Chaz to attend one of Gaethje’s fights. The editors then flashed a photo of Chazzy at said fight a few weeks later. It was awesome.
On paper, the duo seem like an odd match, but through the camera lens they looked sympatico, perhaps bonded by being two of the greatest current athletes in their respective (and very niche) fields. Safe to say, if you get yourself a buddy who checks the golf cart seat temperature for you after it’s been sitting in the scorching August sun, you’ll have a wingman for life.
Least Impressed
Say hello to Kevin Kisner. Whether drunk, tired or a little bit of both, Kisner looked like toast down the stretch. The constant ruling requests as Salim blasted one after another into the great beyond probably didn’t help his mood either. Eventually, Kisner started just telling the cameras what he really felt, which was essentially that these guys suck.
“I could kick it closer than that,” he said on one occasion. “I’ve never seen anyone play from the positions these guys are playing from,” he said again as Big John tried to rescue Team Red from a literal rock quarry. At one point he scoffed at the increasingly windy conditions and fast greens. "These guys are playing PGA Tour conditions now and they just can't handle it," he said.
We’ve seen Kisner take his share of lumps over the years—who can forget that TGL hosel rocket that nearly killed Tiger?—but Kiz’s waning patience with YouTube's best sticks was a reminder of just how good the pros really are.
Biggest Cheat Code
Bobby Ray divided opinion throughout the Internet Invitational. Early on, even his own team undervalued his skill set, serving him up as a weaker player in several match ups. Perhaps that was just some clever sandbagg—er, gamesmanship—but it seemed to fire up Bobby Ray, who proved clutch for Team Blue down the stretch. Sure, maybe he's a one-trick pony, but when that trick is driving par 4s with an iron in hand, it's worth a hell of a lot.
Breakout Star
Last year Chazzy and Brad Dalke duked it out for the title of the Internet Invitational’s breakout star. (Yes, I know Dalke was already a big personality for Good Good, but he went from being the channel’s mild-mannered stick to playing in PGA Tour events and captaining his own YGT squad).
There was no such ambiguity this year. If you, like me, didn’t know the name Big John going in, you do now. He began the tournament by effortlessly getting under Dave Portnoy’s skin—always a good sign—and quickly cemented his credentials on the course, draining a remarkable putt in a day-one playoff for Team White that will stand as the defining moment of the 2026 Internet Invitational.
Big John deservedly made the final six, and played well alongside Whitney, but was unable to overcome Salim’s drunken F5 tornado. His breakout status will no doubt feel like a consolation prize after coming oh-so-close to winning, but if he plays his cards right, his performance at Big Cedar Lodge this year could be worth a lot more than $1.3 million.
A Dish Served Cold
For whatever reason, the 2026 Internet Invitational brought the Riggs haters pouring out of the woodwork. For me, Riggs gets a big ol’ shrug. I can’t possibly imagine having a strong opinion on the guy either way, but clearly people do, and the naysayers made themselves heard this year.
Because it is filmed in advance, Internet Invitational competitors have the advantage of playing the tournament divorced from the hype, hate and narratives that form as the world watches along. You wouldn’t have known it watching Riggs in the final, though. The guy played like he knew exactly the abuse that was coming and couldn’t wait shove it back in the Internet’s face. Sure, his swing is still fugly, but he knocked ‘em stiff all day, putted well and in the end took $1.3 million off his boss, who was rooting against him harder than anyone else. If you think that felt good in the moment, imagine how it feels now with all of golf Twitter piling on. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am in fact saying this:
If you come at Riggs, you best not miss.