It all started in August 2025, when Barstool Sports hosted the Internet Invitational. It was a million-dollar creator golf tournament at Big Cedar Lodge, Arizona, where Luke Kwon partnered with PFT Commenter, a 22-handicap golfer. But for some reason or another, Kwon slept through his tee time and missed it by eight minutes. PFT had to play one-versus-two, and when Kwon came back, his “nonchalant” attitude further fueled people’s ire. And now, Kwon has issued an apology, but one of his statements made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

“I just don’t think this YouTube golf thing is that serious. We’re just playing golf on YouTube,” says Kwon in his 18-minute apology video titled ‘Addressing internet invitational.’

“I saw a lot of comments saying that I was cocky…totally valid. Me saying this out loud sounds cocky. I agree. I don’t know if you guys have seen my content, like I say to myself all the time, I’m here on YouTube because I’m a failed pro golfer,” Kwon further continued in his video.

A standout at the University of Oklahoma, Luke Kwon won the 2016 Puerto Rico Individual Classic and earned All-Big 12 and All-American honors. But when he decided to transition to pro golf, it proved difficult.

He did see some success, such as a win at the 2019 Qinhuangdao Championship and earning a Korn Ferry Tour card, but after that, his career pretty much stalled. He made only six cuts in 16 Korn Ferry starts and eventually started playing small events like the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.

By 2022, the dream of a PGA Tour card was over. Eventually, he turned to YouTube, and that changed his life. Now he sits with 390,000 subscribers and high-profile collaborations with pros like Lydia Ko and Sergio Garcia. Needless to say, he’s one of the most successful golf YouTubers on the platform.

“I’m at peace with what I’ve done in pro golf. If you think I suck, I agree. If you think I’m good, great. It’s just golf. Like, okay, you’re good at golf. So what? I don’t think that’s that cool. You’re just good at golf,” he says.

“I just want to say I’m sorry. And I’m not even trying to convince you. I’m just sorry. And maybe this is not enough for you guys. Fine. I’m not trying to convince you…I don’t know if you guys know this about the internet. People will hate on dog videos. They’re going to hate people. There’s going to be people that don’t like me. Fine. I hope you guys can accept my apology. And if not, well then so be it,” Kwon concluded.

Sure, the way things were handled initially, one can argue that with a little maturity, that could have been avoided. But you can’t negate what Kwon is saying here. People rarely spare a chance to cancel others. That’s why influencers have been forced to apologize time and again.

When golf influencers are forced to apologize

Luke Kwon is not a standalone case of cancel culture in the YouTube golf community. The golf world has several notable influencers, and they, too, have dipped their toes in controversies, which have forced them to eventually apologize.

In 2022, Grant Horvat‘s sudden departure from Good Good Golf (the same group Kwon is a part of) sparked a wave of outrage. Bound by contractual silence, Horvat could not share details, and that really did not help his case. He later revealed how he received hundreds of “awful messages” and “millions of DMs” filled with hate.

“But I look at it as a positive thing because it thickened my skin for what is to come…I feel like in this space, you could have a million comments and a million different opinions, and people are not going to like you,” Horvat said later, which finds echoes with Kwon’s statement.

Anyway, Horvat’s statement acted like a foreshadowing, as just earlier this year, he again faced significant criticism for receiving and then declining an invitation to play in the Barracuda Championship. So, no matter what you do, you are going to get hated.

And then, Paige Spiranac faced her own, albeit smaller, controversy in the same International Invitational where Kwon’s incident happened. She, too, was then forced to apologize.

In the broader context of things, YouTube Golf is a big avenue, and that is why such entities have to take accountability for their actions. They have a hundred thousand subscribers and millions of views. But Kwon is also right. Is it that big and serious to eventually hamper their career? That’s a food for thought.