There’s absolutely no arguing it: The Internet Invitational was a massive success for Barstool Sports. Unsurprisingly, Dave Portnoy and company have their sights set on massive growth in Year 2 and beyond.
The made-for-YouTube golf competition that featured 48 of the sport’s top content creators exceeded all expectations. The pretaped series, co-produced and planned with Bob Does Sports, got more than 20 million views within the first couple of weeks of going live.
Portnoy on the Nov. 20 episode of Barstool’s “The Unnamed Show” said he’s got grand plans for next year, saying the purse could expand to $10 million and teased a pair of cameos from two major sports celebrities: WNBA star Caitlin Clark and Kai Trump.
“I’ve invited two people so far, and they both said yes, I don’t know how serious the yesses are,” Portnoy said on the podcast with former NHL defenseman and Internet Invitational participant Ryan Whitney. “Caitlin said yes. Kai Trump said yes. Those are my two I’ve asked. Whether push comes to shove those two are available and do it, who knows.”
Internet Invitational Adding Clark, Trump for Next Season?
Just thinking about trying to schedule a tournament of this magnitude will make your head spin. Getting that many golf content creators together in the summer — as they did this year — is a Herculean task. Then again, if Clark is actually going to play, recording for another season would have to be moved around. The series was recorded in August this past summer, which is right in the middle of the WNBA season.
As for Trump’s inclusion, the granddaughter of President Donald Trump just made her LPGA debut earlier this month. She received a sponsor’s exemption to play The Annika.
The University of Miami commit missed the cut, but her selling power for Barstool and the Internet Invitational obviously extends beyond the course. In addition to having arguably the world’s most famous surname, she also boasts a YouTube page with 1.4 million followers.
Internet Invitational Purse Could See Major Increase, Dave Portnoy Says
Portnoy also mentioned a major increase to the purse. The winners of Season 1 — Good Good’s Brad Dalke, Barstool’s Francis Ellis and the late Cody “Beef” Franke — split the $1 million prize for their win in the inaugural playing.
“I don’t know if we’ll get there, but I’d like to do a $10 million pool next year,” Portnoy said. “I think it will be a lot easier to get money, sponsors, all that stuff. We proved it. Year 2, you really prove it, and then you’ve got something.”
This, paired with apparent changes coming to the PGA Tour schedule as early as 2027, might signal a major shift in how the sport is consumed.
“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,” Sean Fairholm wrote for My Golf Spy. “Doesn’t it feel like golf as an entertainment product will be more decentralized, transitioning into events that engage the audience more directly?”
One thing is clear: YouTube golf has major staying power.
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