Internet Invitational
Made-for-YouTube team golf tournament produced by Barstool Sports’ Fore Play and Bob Does Sports at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri, played for $1 million in 2025 and $4 million in 2026.
Golf tournament · 23 creators in the index · Updated Nov 5, 2026
The Internet Invitational is a made-for-YouTube golf tournament known for putting golf creators, comedians and athletes into team match play for life-changing money, produced by Barstool Sports’ golf show Fore Play and Bob Does Sports. Season 1 was filmed at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri in August 2025 with 48 players and a $1 million prize, and the final, released on November 13, 2025, was won by Francis Ellis, Brad Dalke and Cody “Beef” Franke, who had died at 31 the month before. Season 2 has 64 players in four teams of 16, per Golfmagic, and a $4 million purse, per Golf Digest. As of November 5, 2026, three of its six episodes have aired: Team Blue, captained by Peter Finch, and Brad Dalke’s Team Red went out at the end of Day 1, after Big John holed the playoff putt for Ryan Ruffels’s Team White, and Team White and Team Green are playing Day 2. Episode 4 is due at 1 p.m. ET on November 5 and the finale on November 12, so no Season 2 winner has been shown yet.
Season 2 (2026) teams and players
Season 2 has 64 players in four teams of 16, captained by Brad Dalke, Wesley Bryan, Peter Finch and Ryan Ruffels, per Golfmagic. No accepted outlet has published all 64 names by team, so this table lists the players whose team we can source from Heavy and Golf Digest’s recaps of episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3, then other confirmed players. Status is as of November 5, 2026, after episode 3.
| Name | Season 2 team | On screen so far | Status (November 5, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Ruffels | White (captain) | Picked Grant Horvat and Big John for the deciding playoff hole | Still in: Day 2 under way |
| Grant Horvat | White | Bunker shot that set up the Day 1 winning putt; Golf Digest’s MVP through three episodes | Still in |
| Big John | White | Holed the Day 1 playoff putt that eliminated Team Blue; a late invite from Robby Berger | Still in |
| Micah Morris | White | Played the first playoff hole with Ruffels | Still in |
| Paige Spiranac | White | Lost her opening match with Bobby Ray, 4 and 2; Season 1 finalist | Still in |
| Justin Gaethje | White | Partnered Grant Horvat on Day 1 | Still in |
| Jon Gruden | White | The “Gruden Rule” dispute; partnered Salim on Day 2 | Still in |
| Salim | White | Jon Gruden’s Day 2 partner; Golf Digest gives only his first name | Still in |
| Bobby Ray | White | Episode 1 run-in with Short Game King; won $25,000 on the $50,000 ninth hole with The Duke | Still in |
| The Duke | White | Birdie on the $50,000 ninth hole in episode 3 | Still in |
| Wesley Bryan | Green (captain) | Partnered Robby Berger against Andrew Santino and DOD King in episode 1 | Still in |
| Robby Berger (Bob Does Sports) | Green | Asked Dave Portnoy to keep the Day 1 teams for Day 2, and he agreed | Still in |
| PFT Commenter | Green | Played Jon Gruden and Salim with Callux on Day 2 | Still in |
| Callux | Green | Learned on the course that his opponent was Jon Gruden | Still in |
| Cole Lantz and Seb on Golf | Green | Halved their Day 2 match with Grant Horvat | Still in |
| Peter Finch | Blue (captain) | Played the first playoff hole with Luke Kwon | Out: eliminated at the end of Day 1 (episode 2, October 29) |
| Luke Kwon | Blue | Slept in a tent on the first green; holed a four-footer to force a second playoff hole | Out (episode 2) |
| Rick Shiels | Blue | Played the deciding playoff hole with Roger Steele | Out (episode 2) |
| Roger Steele | Blue | Won his opening match with Short Game King, 4 and 2 | Out (episode 2) |
| Short Game King | Blue | Asked Bobby Ray about his basketball shoes; missed a short putt to lose his afternoon match | Out (episode 2) |
| Frankie Borrelli | Blue | Faced Jon Gruden and Bobby Ray with Francis Ellis; Season 1 runner-up | Out (episode 2) |
| Francis Ellis | Blue | Season 1 co-champion | Out (episode 2) |
| Brad Dalke | Red (captain) | Defending champion; wore his pink 2025 winner’s jacket | Out: Team Red did not advance from Day 1 |
| Andrew Santino | Red | Argued pros should not be in the field; threw Robby Berger’s ball into the rough | Out (episode 2) |
| DOD King | Red | Santino’s scramble partner in episode 1 | Out (episode 2) |
| Fat Perez | Not stated in our sources | Named by Golf Digest among the Bob Does Sports players in position for Day 2 after episode 1 | Not stated |
| Joey Cold Cuts | Not stated in our sources | Named with Fat Perez in the same Golf Digest recap | Not stated |
| George Bryan (Bryan Bros) | Not stated in our sources | Named in the field by Heavy and Golf Digest | Not stated |
| Trent Ryan | Not stated in our sources | Whiffed a shot and fell over in episode 2, per Golf Digest | Not stated |
| Jersey Jerry | Not stated in our sources | In episode 2 with Trent, per Golf Digest | Not stated |
| Claire Hogle | Not stated in our sources | Opening match against Sam Heung Min, who won a hole with a long eagle putt | Not stated |
| Kyle Forgeard | Not stated in our sources | Named in the field by Heavy in October 2026 | Not stated |
| Garrett Clark | Not stated in our sources | Listed in the field by Golfmagic | Not stated |
| Ryan Whitney | Not stated in our sources | Listed in the field by Golfmagic | Not stated |
| Johnny Manziel, Jason Williams, Tyler Toney, Malosi Togisala, Chaz Bowker, Josh Richards, Hailey Rae Ostrom, Tisha Alyn | Not stated in our sources | Confirmed in the field by Golf Digest, Heavy or Golfmagic | Not stated |
Team colors: Heavy names Finch’s Team Blue and Ruffels’s Team White; Golf Digest’s episode 2 recap names Red and Green as the other two teams and its episode 3 recap puts Robby Berger on Team Green, whom Wesley Bryan partnered in episode 1 against Andrew Santino of Team Dalke. The official episode 3 description says Teams Green and White advanced. If a full roster by team is published, this table will add it.
Season 2 episodes
Six episodes, premiering Mondays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET on the Fore Play Golf, Bob Does Sports and Internet Invitational YouTube channels, per Golf Digest. Titles are as posted; views were read from YouTube on November 4, 2026.
| Episode | Premiere | What happened | Views |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: 64 Golfers Compete For 4 Million Dollars | Mon, Oct 26, 2026 | Tribute to Cody “Beef” Franke and the new Cody “Beef” Franke Trophy; Day 1 morning scramble; Bobby Ray and Short Game King; Andrew Santino’s protest about pros | About 11.4 million |
| 2: The Greatest Moment In YouTube Golf History | Thu, Oct 29, 2026 | Day 1 alternate shot; White and Blue went to a playoff, and Big John’s putt on the second playoff hole sent White through; Blue and Red eliminated, 64 players down to 32 | About 7.6 million |
| 3: The Prize Gets Even Bigger | Mon, Nov 2, 2026 | Day 2, White against Green with the same teams; White won the morning four-ball 6 to 1; the Kevin Kisner Celebrity Shot; The Duke’s birdie on the $50,000 ninth hole | About 5.6 million |
| 4 | Thu, Nov 5, 2026, 1 p.m. ET | Not yet aired as of this update | Not yet aired |
| 5 | Mon, Nov 9, 2026 | Not yet aired | Not yet aired |
| 6: Finale | Thu, Nov 12, 2026 | Not yet aired; the Season 2 winners are decided here | Not yet aired |
Episode dates 4 and 5 follow the published Monday and Thursday schedule and Golfmagic’s episode list. The episodes run long: GOLF.com reported that episode 1 ran more than five hours.
Season 1 (2025) results
48 players at Big Cedar Lodge, filmed August 12 to 16, 2025 and released from October 28, 2025, in six episodes. Captains were Robby Berger of Bob Does Sports and Riggs of Fore Play, per Golf Digest.
| Stage | Released | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (episodes 1 and 2) | Oct 28 and Oct 30, 2025 | Half the field eliminated after the alternate shot session; nearly all of the Bob Does Sports crew and the Bryan Bros went out | Luke Kwon slept through his 9:30 a.m. tee time, so PFT Commenter played four holes alone; they lost 4 and 3 |
| Day 2 to semifinal (episodes 3 to 5) | From Nov 3, 2025 | 24 players started Day 2, and the field was halved again before the final | Dave Portnoy added skins and side bets as it went, per Forbes |
| Final (episode 6) | Nov 13, 2025 | Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody “Beef” Franke beat Paige Spiranac, Frankie Borrelli and Malosi Togisala | 18 holes of alternate shot match play for $1 million, $333,333 each; Borrelli’s pitch on the last hole went in the water; disputes over Spiranac in a penalty area and Togisala’s rangefinder slope setting |
Other index entries who played Season 1: Riggs (captain), Robby Berger (captain), Fat Perez, Joey Cold Cuts, the Bryan Bros, Grant Horvat, Garrett Clark, Micah Morris, Kyle Berkshire, Bubbie Golf and Rick Shiels, per KOLR, Golf Digest and match videos on the Internet Invitational channel. Ryan Whitney confronted Kwon at lunch on Day 1, per Golf Digest.
Timeline
- May 2025Kirk Minihane objects on his show to being left out of the first event, which Dave Portnoy did not invite him to, per Awful Announcing.
- Jul 10, 2025The field is announced for August 12 to 16 at Big Cedar Lodge with $1 million in prize money, per KOLR, citing Portnoy’s posts.
- Oct 27, 2025Fore Play announces that Cody “Beef” Franke, its lead golf pro and a PGA of America professional, has died at 31 after a sudden medical issue, per Today.
- Oct 28, 2025Episode 1, 48 Golfers Compete For One Million Dollars!, opens with a tribute to Franke, whose family asked that the series air as planned, per Golf Digest.
- Oct 31, 2025Golf Digest recaps Luke Kwon’s missed 9:30 a.m. tee time in episode 1 and reports that Ryan Whitney confronted him at lunch.
- Nov 13, 2025Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Franke win the $1 million final over Paige Spiranac, Frankie Borrelli and Malosi Togisala, watched live by more than 200,000 people on YouTube, per GOLF.com.
- Nov 2025Forbes reports two rules disputes from the final: Spiranac was warned for trampling native grass in a penalty area, and Togisala reportedly used a rangefinder with its slope function on.
- Jun 1, 2026Barstool confirms the 2026 prize money, a 300% increase to $4 million, per Golf Digest.
- Aug 10 to 17, 2026Season 2 is filmed at Big Cedar Lodge with 64 players, per Heavy.
- Oct 15, 2026Golf Digest reports a six-episode run from October 26 to a November 12 finale, with Johnny Manziel and Jason Williams among the new players.
- Oct 26, 2026Episode 1 premieres; Franke’s family introduces the Cody “Beef” Franke Trophy and a foundation in his name, per Golf Digest.
- Oct 29, 2026Episode 2: Big John’s putt on the second playoff hole sends Team White through and eliminates Team Blue, per Heavy; Team Red also goes out, leaving White and Green for Day 2, per Golf Digest’s episode 3 recap.
- Nov 2, 2026Episode 3 opens Day 2 with the Day 1 teams kept together at Robby Berger’s request, and Team White wins the morning four-ball 6 to 1 against Team Green, per Golf Digest.
- Nov 4, 2026GOLF.com reports that more than 10 million people watched in a single week, and a production of 82 camera operators and about 800 hours of footage.
- Nov 5, 2026As of November 5, 2026, Teams White and Green are still in, episode 4 is due at 1 p.m. ET, and the finale is set for November 12; no Season 2 winner has aired.
Questions people ask
Who is in the 2026 Internet Invitational? What are the teams and the full roster?
The 2026 Internet Invitational has 64 players in four teams of 16, captained by Brad Dalke, Wesley Bryan, Peter Finch and Ryan Ruffels, per Golfmagic. As of November 5, 2026, no accepted outlet has published all 64 names by team. What is on the record: Team White (Ruffels) includes Grant Horvat, Big John, Micah Morris, Paige Spiranac, Jon Gruden, Justin Gaethje and Bobby Ray; Team Green includes Wesley Bryan, Robby Berger of Bob Does Sports, PFT Commenter and Callux; Team Blue (Finch) included Luke Kwon, Rick Shiels, Roger Steele, Frankie Borrelli and Francis Ellis; and Team Red (Dalke) included Andrew Santino. Golf Digest and Heavy also name Johnny Manziel, Jason Williams, Dude Perfect’s Tyler Toney, Kyle Forgeard, George Bryan, Fat Perez, Joey Cold Cuts, Trent Ryan, Jersey Jerry and Claire Hogle. The table above lists everyone we can source.
What has happened so far in the 2026 Internet Invitational? Who has been eliminated?
As of November 5, 2026, three of the six Season 2 episodes have aired, and two of the four teams are out: Peter Finch’s Team Blue and Brad Dalke’s Team Red were eliminated at the end of Day 1, cutting the field from 64 to 32. Episode 1 (October 26) opened with a tribute to Cody “Beef” Franke and the morning scramble. In episode 2 (October 29), Teams White and Blue went to a playoff, and Big John holed the putt on the second playoff hole that sent White through, per Heavy; the official episode 3 description confirms Teams Green and White advanced. In episode 3 (November 2), White won the Day 2 morning four-ball 6 to 1 against Green, per Golf Digest, but Day 2 had not finished on screen. That means the defending champions, Dalke and Francis Ellis, are both out. We do not predict who wins.
When is the next Internet Invitational episode, and when is the finale?
Episode 4 of the 2026 Internet Invitational is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET, episode 5 for Monday, November 9, and the finale for Thursday, November 12. New episodes premiere on Mondays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT), per Golf Digest and Golfmagic. The six episodes were all filmed in August 2026, so the result already exists but has not been released.
Who won the Internet Invitational in 2025? Who won the first one?
The first Internet Invitational, in 2025, was won by Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody “Beef” Franke, who beat Paige Spiranac, Frankie Borrelli and Malosi Togisala in the final, released on November 13, 2025, per Forbes. The final was 18 holes of alternate shot match play for $1 million, or $333,333 per player, per Golf Digest. It ended when Borrelli skulled a pitch into the water on the last hole and Franke holed a putt from off the green, per GOLF.com. Asked what he would do with his share, Franke said he would pay off his parents’ house. He had died in late October, before the series aired.
How much is the Internet Invitational prize money, and how is it split?
The 2026 Internet Invitational is played for $4 million, up from $1 million in 2025, a 300% increase Barstool confirmed the weekend before Golf Digest reported it on June 1, 2026, per Golf Digest. Barstool has not published a payout table; if the final again uses three-player teams, as in 2025, each winner would get about $1.33 million, the estimate Golf Digest gave. Riggs of Fore Play told GOLF.com, in a story published November 4, 2026, that the pool is what is left of sponsor money after production costs, and that Barstool keeps none of it. There is extra money during filming too: episode 3 had a $50,000 ninth hole, which The Duke and Bobby Ray split, per Golf Digest.
What happened with Big John’s putt at the Internet Invitational?
Big John holed the putt that ended Day 1 of the 2026 Internet Invitational, in episode 2, posted October 29, 2026. The Team White and Team Blue session went to an alternate shot playoff; on the second hole Big John and Grant Horvat faced Roger Steele and Rick Shiels, Horvat got out of a bunker to about 20 feet, and Big John made the putt with his backward-blade putter, the Reaper, to eliminate Team Blue, per Heavy. Heavy reported that he was a last-minute invite from Robby Berger and that Dave Portnoy had told him, “I don’t like you.” The episode had about 7.6 million views by November 4, 2026.
Is Luke Kwon in the 2026 Internet Invitational? Was he invited back?
Yes, Luke Kwon was invited back for the 2026 Internet Invitational, and as of November 5, 2026 he is out: his team, Peter Finch’s Team Blue, was eliminated at the end of Day 1 in episode 2. A year after sleeping through his 9:30 a.m. tee time, he pitched a tent on the first green so he would not oversleep again, per Golf Digest. In the Day 1 playoff he holed a four-footer to force a second hole, which Heavy called a redemption story, before Big John’s putt knocked his team out. His full story is on our Luke Kwon entry.
Who was not invited back to the Internet Invitational? Were there snubs in 2026?
The Internet Invitational has not published a list of Season 1 players who were left out of Season 2, so as of November 5, 2026 there is no official answer to who was not invited back. What is on the record: Robby Berger handled player recruiting, per GOLF.com, and Portnoy uses a veto in team selection, per Golf Digest. Heavy reported in October 2026 that Chance Taylor is not in the series, and that Big John got in only as a last-minute invite Portnoy opposed. Luke Kwon, the villain of Season 1, was invited back. The best-known snub is from 2025: Portnoy did not invite Barstool’s Kirk Minihane to the first event, and Minihane said on his show, “I don’t like the idea that there was a room” of players objecting to him, per Awful Announcing.
Who is Salim, who is Claire, and who is Kyle in the Internet Invitational?
Salim, Claire and Kyle are three of the names people search from the 2026 Internet Invitational, and as of November 5, 2026 only two of them can be identified from accepted sources. Claire is Claire Hogle, a former college golfer and golf creator, whose opening match against Sam Heung Min was one of Golf Digest’s episode 1 highlights. Kyle in the 2026 field is Kyle Forgeard, the Nelk co-founder, per Heavy; long driver Kyle Berkshire played Season 1. Salim plays for Team White and partnered Jon Gruden on Day 2, but Golf Digest’s episode 3 recap gives only his first name, so we do not link him to an entry until a source names him in full.
Is Bob Does Sports part of Barstool? Who runs the Internet Invitational?
No, Bob Does Sports is not part of Barstool Sports: it is owned and operated by Doing Things, a digital media company, per a March 2026 PrizePicks release, and it partners with Barstool only on the Internet Invitational. GOLF.com reported that Dave Portnoy came up with the event after asking why his people were not included in the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic, and that Riggs of Fore Play pitched a joint venture to Robby Berger, who handled player recruiting; the partners split the YouTube publishing rights and ad revenue, per GOLF.com. Fore Play’s team assembles the final episodes, and Portnoy, Kevin Kisner and Big Cat approve the matchups, per Heavy. More on the crew is in our Bob Does Sports and Barstool Sports pages.
What is the Internet Invitational format, and where is it played?
The Internet Invitational is team match play at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, with no handicap strokes and half the field eliminated each day. In 2026, 64 players in four teams of 16 play two-player scramble and alternate shot matches on Day 1, after which two whole teams go home, per Golfmagic; Day 2 adds four-ball and a Kevin Kisner Celebrity Shot each team can use once, per Golf Digest. Matchups must pass the “Gruden Rule,” approved by Portnoy, Kisner and Big Cat to stop lopsided pairings, per Heavy. In 2025, 48 players were drafted into two teams of 24 and the last three-player teams met in an 18-hole alternate shot final. It is not a PGA Tour event.
What happened to Beef from the Internet Invitational? What is the Cody “Beef” Franke Trophy?
Cody “Beef” Franke, Fore Play’s lead golf pro and a 2025 Internet Invitational champion, died at 31 in October 2025 after a sudden medical issue, per Today, before the series he won had aired. His family asked that it be released as planned, per Golf Digest. At the start of Season 2 his mother, brother and stepfather introduced the Cody “Beef” Franke Trophy, now the event’s prize, along with a Heart of the Course award for golf club employees and the Cody “Beef” Franke Foundation for Golf, which funds scholarships for careers in golf, per Golf Digest. Each 2026 episode description links to codybeefgolf.org.
Where can I watch the Internet Invitational? How do I watch it?
The Internet Invitational streams free on YouTube, on the Fore Play Golf, Bob Does Sports and Internet Invitational channels, which share the episodes between them; GOLF.com reported that Bob Does Sports holds episodes 1, 3 and 5. As of November 5, 2026, Season 2 episodes 1 to 3 are up and new ones premiere Mondays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET until the November 12 finale. All of Season 1 is on the same channels, including the finale, which had about 4.6 million views by November 2026. Episodes are long: GOLF.com reported that the first Season 2 episode ran more than five hours.
What is Bob Does Sports’ net worth? Is Robby Berger’s engagement off? How old are the players?
Not something we cover. The Internet Invitational and Bob Does Sports do not publish what anyone earns beyond the prize money above, and we do not repeat net-worth estimates or relationship rumors. Ages that the creators or Famous Birthdays publish are on each person’s entry, such as Bob Does Sports and Joey Cold Cuts.
Our read
Ames Create does not work with Internet Invitational. This is our view, from a team that works on creator brands for a living.
The format. The Internet Invitational is a golf tournament cut like a reality show: a draft, team colors, side bets, a rule named after Jon Gruden, and match play where one putt can send 32 people home. Each episode runs for hours, built from about 800 hours of footage, and the drama comes as much from the players’ grudges and Portnoy’s rulings as from the golf.
Why it travels. It travels because it mixes audiences that never overlap: YouTube golf’s regulars, Barstool’s cast, Nelk, Dude Perfect, NFL and UFC names. Each player brings a following, and the clips spread across all three channels. The numbers show it: about 11.4 million views on the first Season 2 episode in nine days, and more than 10 million people watching in a single week, per GOLF.com. Every season so far has produced a villain and a hero by episode 2, from Luke Kwon’s missed tee time to Big John’s putt.
Brand fit. Brands buy into the event rather than a player: Dunkin’ presents Season 2, and the episodes carry reads for Reese’s, Whoop, Zyrtec, DraftKings, PrizePicks and Big Cedar Lodge. Because the purse is what is left after production, sponsors effectively fund the prize, which is part of the pitch. The tone is Barstool’s, loose and combative, and the rules disputes are part of the show, so brands that need a polished golf broadcast should look at the PGA Tour’s formats instead.
Also in the index
Entries that mention Internet Invitational.
| Kirk MinihaneFormer WEEI morning host from Boston who makes The Kirk Minihane Show and the true crime podcast The Case for Barstool Sports. | Sports |
| Mr Short GameGolf coach Matt Fisher’s YouTube channel of short game, swing and gear lessons for amateur golfers, plus a golf podcast about creator golf and the pro game. | Sports |
| RiggsBarstool Sports golf host and Fore Play co-founder, a former Harvard hockey player who now plays his online critics in the H8ers matches. | Sports |
Related
- Barstool SportsSports and comedy media company founded by Dave Portnoy in 2003, known for podcasts such as Pardon My Take and Spittin’ Chiclets and for the personalities who make them.
- PGA Tour Creator ClassicShort televised golf event the PGA Tour staged for YouTube golf creators on the eve of its biggest tournaments, four times between August 2024 and August 2025.
- Good GoodGolf YouTube group and apparel company from Frisco, Texas, whose buddy-golf matches and challenges grew into a 2 million subscriber channel, a clothing line and its own televised events.
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Sources: YouTube episodes: Season 2 episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3; Season 1 episode 1, episode 2, episode 3 and finale; the Internet Invitational, Fore Play Golf and Bob Does Sports channels. Golf Digest: October 31, 2025, November 17, 2025, June 1, 2026, October 15, 2026, October 26, 2026, and its recaps of episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3; GOLF.com, November 14, 2025 and November 4, 2026; Forbes, November 13, 2025; Today, October 2025; KOLR on the 2025 field and the first episode; Heavy on the Season 2 field, October 14, 2026, the trailer, Bobby Ray, Andrew Santino, the Gruden Rule and Big John’s putt; Golfmagic, November 2, 2026; Awful Announcing, May 2025; PrizePicks release, March 2026. Views and subscriber counts read from YouTube, November 4, 2026.
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