Internet Invitational 2026 Episode 1: 64 Golfers Compete For 4 Million Dollars
TLDR: Brad Dalke, Wesley Bryan, Ryan Ruffels and Peter Finch won the captains' vote, Ruffels won closest to the pin and chose to play Finch's team, and the four teams of 16 played the morning scramble. Nobody has gone home yet: the afternoon's alternate shot, still to air, decides which two go on to Wednesday.
Season 2 opens on Beef. Cody Franke's family thanks the field, talks about the Cody Beef Franke Foundation and a scholarship in his name, and teaches the room the celebration he used for anyone who did something worth celebrating: two claps and a woo.
“You'll give them two claps in a woo. And who knows, maybe it'll catch on.”
The groups use it all day, and at least one first tee shot went off with a Beef ball: “I need Beef's luck today.”
The field went from 48 to 64 and the money to $4 million, presented by Dunkin'. Everyone on the winning team takes home $1.3 million.
Day 1 is at Ozarks National. Four captains draft four teams of 16, and the teams play off in two pairs: 16 nine-hole matches between each pair, eight in a morning two-player scramble and eight in an afternoon alternate shot, a point a match, everyone off the same tees with no handicaps. The team in each pair with more points goes on to Wednesday. There is a Reese's hole-in-one hole every day, a par 3 that moves: the first ace wins $500,000.
The captains were voted in as a group of four, and the pros' group won: Dalke, the defending champion, plus Wesley Bryan, Ryan Ruffels and Peter Finch. Asked how close the vote was, Dave Portnoy said “not close.”
It was a snake draft. Tooms went first and George Bryan second (“I can't take George quick enough”); The Duke went last, “Mr. Irrelevant for team Ruffels.” Jersey Jerry had been offering Dalke $100,000 of any winnings to be picked.
The captains then hit one shot each at a 100-yard hole Big Cedar built for it. Ruffels was closest, survived an appeal that wanted the shots taped, won $5,000 for everyone on his team, and chose to play Finch's. Finch's team took it personally.
“By the end of the day, I want to see at least one person in tears, and it's not going to be from us.” – Peter Finch
Luke Kwon, who slept through his first tee time a year ago, didn't take the chance again: he slept in a tent.
Rick Shiels and Joey Cold Cuts arrived saying neither had ever lost a match at the Invitational, and left the same way: “Undefeated still.” Justin Gaethje, partnered with Ruffels against Martin Borgmeier and Josh Kelley, kept stuffing irons (“Pressure is my middle name, baby”), and Evan Thompson went six under through seven with Tisha Alyn against Johnny Manziel and Karol Priscilla. “This round was all Evan.”
Ruffels's and Finch's morning came down to Luke Kwon's match against Big John and Fat Perez: “It's either going to be five and a half, two and a half, or four and a half, three and a half. It all depends on the Kwon match.”
In the other pairing, Bob Does Sports and Wesley Bryan beat Andrew Santino and DOD King, and Santino left with a cause.
“My petition. No more pros in this tournament next year.” – Andrew Santino
The episode ends at lunch, with the eight alternate-shot matches in each pairing still to play.
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