Kevin Kisner sees The Duke swing at Internet Invitational

The setting is the 1st hole, a 495-yard par 5, with the Gruden and The Duke side all square. Then The Duke steps up.

Dave Portnoy

@stoolpresidente

There's nothing quite like seeing The Duke swing for the first time t.co/PAYhqQaRr3

That's Kisner's reaction you're meant to be watching for, and for once the hype from the in-house accounts holds up. Within about 20 minutes on Monday night the same clip had gone out from Portnoy, Fore Play, the Invitational's own account and the Barstool clip accounts. The Invitational account went with one word: cinema. When every arm of the company picks the same 30 seconds out of a long first episode, that's the moment of the night.

Some context on why a Kisner reaction carries weight. Kiz isn't a YouTube golfer who's impressed by everything. He's a longtime PGA Tour player who now co-hosts Fore Play and does TV work, and he'll tell you about it. On the Oct. 13 episode of Fore Play he said he'd tried to watch LIV's team championship and quit after half an hour because he couldn't follow it.

Fore Play Podcast

@ForePlayPodcast

“I have played 400 tour events and called quite a few for NBC... could never figure out what the hell was going on.” – Kevin Kisner

0:42

So that's the eye taking in The Duke's swing for the first time. A guy who's seen every move in pro golf, watching a man with a towel hanging off his visor play the opening hole next to Jon Gruden. You don't need the details of the swing to know why that clip went everywhere. The look on the pro's face says it all.

The bigger picture: the Internet Invitational is back for season 2, now with 64 players at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri, playing for a $4 million pot put up by Portnoy. Episode 1 premiered Monday, Oct. 26 on the Fore Play Golf YouTube channel, with 4 teams of 16 playing a scramble. Gruden and The Duke are both on Ryan Ruffels' White Team, so this wasn't a one-off cameo. They're in it together.

Next up is episode 2 on Thursday, Oct. 29, when the format changes to alternate shot. That's every other swing on the same ball, so a partner can't hide behind a scramble. If The Duke's swing got this reaction in a scramble, alternate shot could be even better TV. The season runs 6 episodes, with the finale on Nov. 12.