Francis Ellis on Out and About: win it or it's a failure
TLDR: Francis Ellis told Pat and Kelly Keegs on Out and About that winning the 2025 Internet Invitational made this year a win-or-fail trip, and his team went out in Episode 2.
Pat and Kelly Keegs sat down with Francis for a long one this week, and the Invitational was always going to come up.
Caught up with Fran for well over an hour. Talked Invitational and a bunch of other stuff. Great episode Watch here
Some background on why it's a sore spot. Francis won the first Internet Invitational in 2025 alongside Brad Dalke and the late Cody "Beef" Franke. They beat Paige Spiranac, Frankie Borrelli and Malosi Togisala in a final played for $1 million, which works out to $333,333 a man. Year 2 got bigger: 64 players, a prize pool of more than $4 million, and Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri hosting again in August. Francis came back as a defending champ, and that's where things went sideways.
Had an awesome long convo with our pal Francis this week!
“Last year I said there’s no chance I’m winning this. I’m just gonna have fun, try to say some funny things. Maybe have some good moments, present myself well and hopefully get a few new fans. Then I won the fucking tournament. Which meant that this year I was like, I’m going to win this and if I don’t it’s a failure” -Francis Ellis
That's about as honest as athletes get, and Francis is a comedian. In 2025 the bar was to say some funny things, have a few good moments and pick up some new fans. Then he won, and the bar became winning. He says that in his own head, anything short of a title this year counted as failure. That's an awful way to play golf, and anyone who has stood over a short putt with money on it knows the feeling.
It didn't go his way. Francis and Frankie Borrelli were on Peter Finch's team, and in Episode 2 they lost to Ryan Ruffels' side when Big John made a birdie putt on a playoff hole. Even with the result already out, the Fore Play guys made it clear Francis was in it right until the end.
“It has come down to some big shots from Frankie Borrelli. Francis is right in the mix. We had a playoff.” – Riggs
The episode wasn't all therapy, either. The crew also argued about who the worst golfer in the Internet Invitational field is. With 64 players this year, you get scratch YouTubers next to guys who can barely escape a bunker, and that mix is a big part of why people watch.
The series still has episodes left, with new ones dropping Mondays and Thursdays through mid-November, so Francis gets to watch somebody else's run from the couch. After hearing him explain how the pressure got into his head, it's hard not to want him back next year with the fun-first approach that won it in the first place.
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