You might scoff at this, but I really believe the Internet Invitational is on to something.
It’s a sign of the times that the YouTube-only tournament featuring 48 of golf’s most popular personalities has already brought in more than 10 million views in just one week.
To put that into perspective, the final round of an epic 2025 Masters had an average of 12.7 million viewers. They are completely different events serving completely different purposes but the final audience tally could end up in a similar spot.
The Internet Invitational is far from a normal golf tournament in every conceivable way—even beyond its on-demand, influencer-centric nature.
The event, which was filmed months ago, is split into six episodes trickling out across three weeks. Produced by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports, the editing is more reality TV show than traditional golf tournament.
That extends into the format, which started with two teams of 24 players competing against each other as the fight for a $1.7-million purse began. Scrambles, alternate shot and various team events were used to make it so even the worst golfers—and there are many bad golfers playing—have equal access to contend.
This brings up a question I have talked about a few times here at MGS but it’s never been more pressing than it is now: Is the future of professional golf more about skill or personality?
What pro golf could look like in the future
There is clearly a throng of people interested in events like the Internet Invitational.
Based on my own experience talking to friends, here are some of the reasons golf fans are interested.
- The event can be watched or paused on their own time without commercials.
- The characters involved are funny, entertaining and/or good at golf.
- The level of golf being played is unpredictable, which makes it fun.
- Everything is gamified so there are more immediate rewards and consequences, making more moments feel important.
- The audience has a parasocial relationship with the characters because of their openness talking to the camera, creating a feeling of closeness.
Compare this list with a typical PGA Tour event. Those are live events that lose almost all of their rewatch value as soon as the tournament ends. You generally have to watch them, with commercials, in a predetermined time window.
The characters involved are, for the most part, only entertaining because of their golf skill. And that skill is fairly predictable in that we know even their bad shots are pretty good.
With few exceptions, golf fans don’t experience a closeness with professional golfers because the golfers aren’t particularly accessible or interesting.
And most golf tournaments are four rounds of stroke play with no immediate rewards for success. You don’t get anything for being the first-round leader.
On top of all of that, producing and broadcasting a Tour event is way more expensive and cumbersome.
What is stopping events like the Internet Invitational from becoming more prevalent? If you can produce an event like this—and imagine if you could do it with actual Tour pros—people are going to watch.
We’ve always thought of professional golf as buttoned-up, traditional and serious.
The Internet Invitational isn’t any of those things, but it’s still golfers playing for prize money. It’s “professional golf” turned inside out.
But there is still a place for Tour golf
Don’t get me wrong here. I think there will always be some form of elite competitive golf.
I’m not saying top-tier Tour events are going away any time soon. There is a place for them in the ecosystem. They serve different audiences and scratch different itches. Both can be successful. After a tough 2024, this year’s TV ratings bounced back to be solid yet unspectacular.
But … the Internet Invitational against the Barracuda Championship?
I’m just not sure how these lower-tier Tour events survive over the long haul, especially with Tour cards being cut and more of the money being funneled to the big dogs.
Doesn’t it feel like golf as an entertainment product will be more decentralized, transitioning into events that engage the audience more directly?
Maybe the Internet Invitational is not for you. Maybe you couldn’t even get through five minutes of it.
I totally understand that. At the same time, the first episode has over five million views.
People vote with their eyeballs, and the money follows those votes.
So what do you think? Is the Internet Invitational a sign of things to come in a newfangled world of professional golf? Is it a flash in the pan?
Let me know in the comments.
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