GOLF INFLUENCER Paige Spiranac has opened up on the flood of abuse she received following a cheating scandal at the Internet Invitational.
The 32-year-old was playing in the final match of the $1million golf tournament earlier this month, held at Missouri‘s Big Cedar Lodge, when she was spotted appearing to tread down some long grass near the ball of team-mate Malosi Togisala.
Golf content creator Peter Finch spotted the motion but held back on pointing it out to Spiranac until the end of the round.
A tearful Spiranac defended herself at the time, saying: “I didn’t realise that you couldn’t do that. I didn’t think I improved… I didn’t move the ball.
“I just don’t want people to think that I would try to cheat.”
But despite her fellow players assuring the influencer it was alright and they were not pressing the issue, fans were quick to call out the action as cheating, claiming she stomped the grass down in order to provide her team with a better lie.
Now the Colorado native has revealed that some fans went as far as to send her death threats as she struggled with the fallout from the incident.
In a Q&A to her four million Instagram followers, she revealed: “I am painfully embarrassed that I did not know this rule, but I would never intentionally cheat.
“The last week and a half has been probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the ten years of me doing this.
“I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, the most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual.
“That’s been in my DMs to the point where we were discussing me having to potentially get a restraining order. I mean, it’s serious stuff. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy.”
Spiranac’s team would go on to lose the tournament anyway, with the other team splitting up the $1million prize pot.
The torrent of abuse she received prompted her to step away from the world of social media for a spell as she wrestled with the backlash.
She continued: “I know people are wondering why I haven’t posted or why I haven’t talked about it, I just needed to remove myself for my mental health.
“One thing that I really struggle with is wanting to be liked and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to ever dislike me, and I always try to do everything I can to have people like me.
“It’s just hard for me as a person with how I process things and then obviously the situation has not been easy either, but luckily, having a good support system, family around and just trying to stay distracted.”
