The Internet Invitational -- Winners, Losers, Awards for the YouTube Golf Phenomenon

I wrote a blurb about the Internet Invitational last week for the blog without spoilers following the airing of its finale on Thursday Night. The 6-episode YouTube series concluded nearly a week ago, accumulating well over 20 million total views in that time span. Put on by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports, this event featured 48 of the biggest YouTube Golf personalities playing for $1 million -- guys who have played in actual PGA events (even the Masters for crying out loud) -- Barstool content people, legit celebrities like Jon Gruden and Andrew Santino, and everything in between.

Like I'd do after a season of The White Lotus or Severance -- I'm handing out our post-season awards for the inaugural Internet Invitational. The MVP, the LVP, a list of winners and losers, and at the very end -- a list of people we'd like to see involved next time around.

If you haven't caught up on the Internet Invitational -- get caught up now on the @InternetInvitational YouTube Channel. All 6 episodes are out now, and if you love watching golf, it's a must-watch series. Spoilers below.

Last programming note -- the criteria for these awards varies and will be explained in the blurb below them -- but they are based on performance and watchability in the content.

Most Valuable Player - Brad Dalke

The easiest pick of the entire blog is Brad Dalke for MVP. This guy is utterly absurd at golf. Which I guess should be expected from someone who competed at the 2017 Masters as a 19-year old Amateur qualifier -- but I didn't know much about the guy coming in. He was dominant in his matches, carried his teammates throughout, and probably hit 5 of the best 10 shots in the whole Tournament. A Champion of the 1st Internet Invitational, Zero Drama, a pleasure to watch -- an easy MVP.

Least Valuable Player - Luke Kwon

While some new villains emerged in the later episodes, I think the Least Valuable Player of the tournament could only be Mr. Sleep-In. Drafted 5th overall to Bob's Team as one of the best golfers in the field, Kwon diminished his teammate PFT after their pairing was announced saying PFT "didn't even have to show up." Ironically, it was Kwon that didn't show up to his checks notes 9:30 tee-time. His punishment was sitting out the first 4 holes, losing his teams match, destroying all vibes for Team Pink, and effectively ending their chances. A Top-5 player in the field no-showing at mid-morning tee-time is enough for my LVP award.

Most Entertaining Golfer - Chaz

I had no clue who Chaz was coming into this event, but he was an absolute electric factory. Chazzy Golf became a quick favorite of mine, and the rest of the world clearly based on his overnight internet stardom. Whether he was sinking super deep putts, going dead-center on every single fairway in front of him, the hilarious one-liners throughout, and the electric celebrations -- Chaz stole the hearts of millions and is a guaranteed participant next year.

Best Golfer to Lose Early - Wesley Bryan

The only Wesley Bryan/Bryan Bros content I've witnessed has been on the Bob Does Sports YT channel, or every time his fastest round ever on Tour pops up (89 minutes in the 2017 BMW Championship AND shot a 69). Wesley has the personality I look for in a YouTube golfer -- little bit of an asshole/sarcastic, whole lot of funny, and even more incredible golf. My favorite pairing of the entire tournament was watching him and Bob go against Chaz and George Bryan in the first couple rounds -- and I wish I got to see more Wesley.

Most Entertaining Golfer Who Lost Early - Bob Does Sports Crew

The golf content I watch on YouTube is 99% Bob Does Sports, 1% everything else. I love Bobby Fairways. I love Joey Coldcuts. I fucking love Fat Perez. So seeing all 3 of these beauties on the same team -- it was easy to find my rooting interest in the first round. But alas, Team Pink got off to a horrendous start and could never recover. And considering the role they played in setting up/creating this event -- it broke my heart. I hope next year the Fellas have a better outing.

(but shoutout The Jet -- Riggs stole him and he played super well for Jet-standards)

Golfer we Wish Lost Earlier - Malosi

I had no ill will toward Malosi throughout the early rounds. I didn't know hardly anything about him, but he seemed like a solid golfer who was a good vibes guy overall, and he had some pretty funny moments throughout. But in the final round with the whole Slope-gate really made me turn a corner. And when I think about all the people I loved watching throughout the event, it made me all the madder that this guy got all the way through to the Million Dollar final.

Best Vibes - Bubbie

Something I think they did very well with in this Invitational was balancing out the field with the characters and the straight arrows. Bubbie to me is somewhere in between -- I found him super entertaining, well-composed, and just seems like a super good dude. I loved seeing him go after Big Mo a bit in the finale as well about the range-finder. This is a guy that was teamed up with Mo and turned down $250K from Dave in the 2nd round for his team -- clearly holds the integrity of the game to a high standard, and I love him for it.

Biggest Surprise - Peter Finch and Roger Steele

There were 2 golfers I didn't know a thing about coming into this that absolutely blew me away from a skill perspective -- Peter Finch and Roger Steele. These two guys are absolute STICKS. Roger played like the overall #1 golfer in the field on that first day. Every single shot was just butter. And Finch brought his fucking A-Game the whole way -- super steady, never got rattled, always had a quick one-liner ready in that beautiful British Accent of his. Loved watching both of these guys throw darts and pimp bombs all Tourney long.

Biggest Douche - Micah Morris

I knew who Micah was coming into the Tournament, but am not a regular viewer of his videos. And after watching the tournament, I can confidently say I'll never seek his videos out. Very good golfer, but a total cocksucker. Just a wet blanket of a personality, but when he does get fired up, it's because he's whining about something. Not nearly good enough to be that big of a douche.

Funniest Moment - Frankie Butterknives on 18

There were plenty of laughs throughout the Internet Invitational -- tons of funny personalities in a big group is always gonna accomplish that. But the funniest moment to me was due to the build-up of tension mounting for nearly two hours of the finale. All-Square on 18, Frankie crumbling over the course of the round with all the pressure in the world on him -- his turn on the tee -- and against all odds, he hits a decent enough drive. And 2 shots later, it's all on him again, needing to hit a tight chip to give his team a chance. And what does he do? He reverts to Frankie Butterknives -- absolutely skull-fucking his chip through the green and into the drink. Portnoy falling over, Joey D unironically yelling "SIT!" as it rolls 1,000 mph into the water. CINEMA.

Best Moment - Beef Winning (RIP)

I don't think a soul that's watched this series would disagree with the final placement here — at least no one that knows the backstory. Barstool Beef -- Cody Franke -- an integral cog in the winning team of the Inaugural Internet Invitational -- passed away just days before the Tournament began airing. It was weird to watch him posthumously in the videos so soon after the news of his passing, but he became the easiest person to root for in the whole field.

When the final round got underway, someone asked him what he'd do with his share of the million. His answer -- "give some to charity, the rest to my parents" -- that was the moment everyone started rooting for their team (if they weren't already). Seeing Beef hold the trophy, tearing up on the 18th green, standing with his team happily, and the final montage send-off nearly made me tear up myself -- perfect send-off for a beloved guy.

Biggest Winners (Not Already Listed):

Francis Ellis

The 3rd leg of the team that won the whole thing, Francis played exceptional golf the whole week and was his entertaining self the whole way.

The Jet

The camera-man/producer of Bob Does Sports was poached away from his BDS brothers in the draft, but it worked to his advantage advancing further. He played better than I've ever seen and came out of the tournament as a major fan-favorite.

Lacey Snell

A last-second addition to the field since JR Smith missed his flight (what an addition that would've been), Lacey worked at Big Cedar Lodge and stepped up to the plate. Played super well, was a fun add with her course knowledge, and it certainly didn't hurt that she's super attractive.

Andrew Santino

As a fan of Bad Friends, his stand-up, and his appearances on Pardon My Take -- I loved seeing Santino in the field. He made me laugh harder than anyone in the field and was actually a very good golfer -- his comment watching Chaz hit a drive killed me ("Oh yeah that's a nice little swing... Now no, Rick, I didn't mean it like that")

The Duke

There's no way to describe The Duke without just showing someone a clip -- this guy is the character of all characters. I'd probably be annoyed by him playing an actual round, but I loved watching him.

Biggest Losers

Riggs

Is just a huge loser in general -- but was also the captain who blew a massive lead in Round 2 because he set his pairings like an absolute baboon. No logic going through that cross-eyed head of his.

Paige Spirannac

Was honestly a fan of Paige throughout -- thought she played well, was entertaining, was smart and got herself in good positions to win the million.

Then she said "clearly you've never played competitive golf" to Francis on the first green in the finale for not conceding a 3-foot slider -- a putt no one would give in a competitive match, let alone for $1 million. Then blatantly cheated -- I mean blatant, textbook cheating -- then claimed she "didn't know it was against the rules," played the victim, and cried about it. The internet is piling on plenty, so I'll leave it at that.

DOD King

I liked DOD a lot -- thought he was super entertaining and was a much-needed Heel in many spots. But it's a tough look when you reassure your teammate "Just get us on the green, I'm making that" over and over, and then quite literally never making that.

Ryan Whitney

Huge fan of Whit, think he's hilarious and love the guy in Barstool content. That being said, he should probably opt out of filmed-golf-competitions for money in the future -- because he turns into a potato every time.

Kyle Berkshire

The Long-drive king had plenty of great shots throughout his two rounds -- but that guy is as wet a blanket as you'll ever see on the personality scale. Sure he's a nice guy, but boring as fuck for a dude that hits it 500 yards.

Dream Additions for Next Year's Internet Invitational

J.R. Smith

Was supposed to be in this year's obviously, but hope he gets the invite to come back.

Caitlin Clark

The invite's already been extended via Twitter -- but can you imagine the views is she joined the field?

Kirk Minihane

I'm not a Kirk fan in the world of Barstool -- but respectfully to PFT, Kirk's a much better golfer, and this tournament could use a legit villain.

Girl Golf Games

All I know about them is from what I see on YouTube reels when I'm scrolling -- but these ladies can play. I don't know names but the Blonde and the Brunette that wears visors can fucking swing it.

Blake Bortles

A Pardon My Take regular, who wouldn't want to see the BOAT competing in this thing?

Jerry O'Connell

Sticking with the PMT theme -- not even sure if JOC golfs, but would love to see him out there.

Kevin Dillon/Johnny Drama

This one's a stretch, but I'm thinking of his golf episode in Entourage and I know he plays in real life, so why the hell not? "Is this thing custom? Mine's off the rack"