Ex Pro Golfer Paige Spiranac Breaks Silence On Shocking Allegations
Instagram | Paige Spiranac
32-year-old influencer and former pro golfer Paige Spiranac is speaking candidly about the darker side of her rise in the golf world, including the painful rumors and judgment she faced during her early professional career.
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Some of those rumors accused Paige Spiranac of performing 'favors' to advance in the sport.
Paige Spiranac Opens Up About Rumors And Judgment In Golf Career
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
Speaking on the "Quiet Please!" podcast with hosts Mel Reid and Kira Dixon, the golf influencer opened up about her painful memories from the tournament, which she now refers to as 'like the worst moment of my life.'
Spiranac, who graduated from San Diego State and turned pro in August 2015, had garnered attention for her social media presence, specifically, her posts featuring bold golf outfits. That viral attention translated into an invitation to play in the Dubai Ladies Masters, a high-profile Ladies European Tour (LET) event.
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However, according to Spiranac, not everyone believed she belonged there. 'Due to her social media popularity, many believed she got an invitation to the prestigious Dubai Ladies Masters despite it being above her level of play," she shared of people's opinions at the time.
'I ended up going viral and this was back when people weren't going viral all the time and I didn't know how to handle it and my whole life got flipped upside down. I went from having 500 followers to 100,000 followers," Spiranac added.
Spiranac Thought Her Pro Debut Would Be 'Low-Key'
Instagram | Paige Spiranac
What was meant to be a low-pressure opportunity turned into something far more intense.
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'I got this invite to play an LET. I had just turned pro, I had never played golf outside the country. And everyone was like, 'It's low key, don't worry about it," the former gold player added. "No one is going to know if you play well or not.''
That couldn't have been further from the truth. Spiranac said she was immediately thrust into the spotlight, explaining, 'I show up and was doing hours of press, which I wasn't prepared for. I had no training to do this.'
Paige Spiranac Says Pro Golf Debut Turned Brutal
Instagram | Paige Spiranac
The real hardship, she explained, came from how she was treated by other female players.
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'I would say there were a couple of girls who were really supportive and who were nice, but the majority, it was brutal," she continued. "I would go on the range and girls would just scatter. No one wanted to hit next to me.'
Even more troubling were the rumors that followed her. 'There were constant comments like 'I did sexual favors to get this invite,' and I was listening to it, and they would say [it] within earshot of me," she recalled. "It was tough.'
Spiranac Opens Up About Missing The Cut And Making Waves
Instagram | Paige Spiranac
Her on-course performance only added fuel to the fire. Spiranac shot rounds of 77 and 79 and missed the cut.
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'Not knowing what I was doing, it was my first pro event, it was really difficult," she explained on the podcast. "I just wanted to be liked and I played so bad. It was horrendous.'
She later acknowledged the optics of her presence at the tournament and how it may have affected her peers. 'You work your a-- off, week in and week out… and here comes me and I just walk on in,' she said. 'I got the new Callaway bag and I had Lululemon that week. I can see why it ruffled some feathers.'
Despite the backlash, Spiranac transformed her viral moment into a wildly successful influencer career. With over 4 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 million on TikTok, she's become one of the most recognizable figures in golf media.
Paige Spiranac Recalls Breakdown After Going Viral
Instagram | Paige Spiranac
This isn't the first time Spiranac has opened up about the emotional toll of those early years.
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In a 2018 interview with Sports Illustrated, she revealed the extent of her distress at the time. 'I was sitting in the bathroom just balling and was like, 'I don't want to go through this pain, this feel of helplessness. Being alone. Scared,'' she said of her emotional breakdown before the 2015 tournament.
Now known as the 'OG Insta Golf Girl,' Spiranac continues to speak out about the challenges she's faced navigating fame, scrutiny, and the sport she loves. She was also recently featured again as a 'legend' in the magazine's 60th anniversary issue in May 2024.
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