Paige Spiranac is back online addressing the Internet Invitational controversy that refuses to die. This time, she admitted she doesn’t fully understand the rules she allegedly broke at the $1 million Internet Invitational. The response came on November 26 when she picked one comment out of the flood of comments, asking her about the difference between moving grass and moving a tree branch for a better stance.

“It’s interesting that you say this, because I have seen pros shimmy themselves back into a tree, and they’ll move a branch to the side just where their body is. And I think that’s fine as long as you don’t break a branch. But I thought that was the same with the grass. And I’ve also seen pros do what I did. So I was just really confused,” Paige Spiranac confessed. Her response was only halfway done.

“And I just haven’t played competitive golf. I have known competitive golf for so long that I can’t say with 100% certainty what some of the rules are. So, I need to read the USGA rulebook. I need to talk to the USGA because some of the rules of golf can be very confusing. A lot of people have reached out to me, saying, “I actually don’t know what the rules are.” And I’m like, the same,” she concluded. Paige Spiranac’s response came after she revealed receiving death threats and nearly taking legal action.

The confusion stems from a nine-year gap in her competitive golf career. Spiranac last played regular professional tournaments in 2016 on the Cactus Tour and at the LET Scottish Open. She retired in December 2016 after failing to earn her LPGA card. Between then and the August 2025 Internet Invitational, she only competed in creator-style events. The Aug 2024 and May 2025 Creator Classics preceded her return to serious competition at the $1 million Internet Invitational.

Here’s where Spiranac’s defense gains traction. The USGA rulebook runs over 160 pages. The definitions section alone spans dozens of pages with formally capitalized terms and nested cross-references. The distinction between loose impediments and growing natural objects trips up even tour professionals. Loose impediments—like detached leaves, sticks, and loose grass—can be moved freely. But growing or attached grass? That’s part of the course and cannot be touched.

USGA education materials repeatedly stress this as one of the most common errors. Golfers mistakenly think they can “create a fairway” by pressing down the grass or breaking branches. Rule 8.1 forbids exactly that as it clearly “restricts what you may do to improve any of the ‘conditions affecting your stroke.'”

Dustin Johnson lost the 2010 PGA Championship after grounding his club in what he thought was a waste area. Tiger Woods received a two-stroke penalty in 2013 when cameras showed his ball had moved while removing a branch. Patrick Reed was penalized in 2019 for brushing sand away behind his ball.

Amidst these confusing rules, the entire episode of cheating allegations falls.

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Paige Spiranac’s Internet Invitational cheating incident explained

The scandal erupted during the Internet Invitational finale at Payne’s Valley in August 2025. Spiranac teamed with Malosi Togisala and Frankie Borrelli in the final match for $1 million.

On the ninth hole, she pushed thick grass down around Togisala’s ball. Fellow competitor Peter Finch spotted it immediately. He later explained she “literally pressed down all the long [grass] in front so he could hit it out.”

The footage showed a clear violation of Rule 8.1. That rule prohibits moving, bending, or breaking any growing or attached natural object to improve conditions affecting the stroke. The penalty? Loss of a hole in match play. Dave Portnoy chose not to enforce the penalty because Spiranac’s team had already lost the hole. But the internet wasn’t so forgiving.

The episode aired publicly in late October 2025. Major coverage spiked between November 13-16. Spiranac faced an unprecedented wave of hate.

Spiranac’s admission that she doesn’t fully know the rules might seem damning. But it’s also brutally honest. Most amateur golfers don’t know them either. Even some professionals struggle with technical distinctions buried in 160 pages of rulebook language. And sometimes, even the pros get it wrong.