Internet Invitational 2026 Episode 2: The Greatest Moment In YouTube Golf History
TLDR: Brad Dalke's defending champions are out on Day 1: Wesley Bryan's team beat them in a landslide. The other pairing finished 8-8 after Bobby Ray and Jon Gruden played the wrong ball on their last hole, and a sudden-death playoff ended on Big John's putt. Peter Finch's team goes on to Wednesday with Wesley Bryan's; Ryan Ruffels's goes home.
The afternoon is alternate shot, and each pairing drafts its own eight matches. Before the first pick, the committee warned it would veto any matchup that looked thrown.
It got used at once. Bobby Ray and Jon Gruden were drawn against Frankie Borrelli and Francis Ellis, the other side protested and argued handicaps, and the match stood. It would decide the day.
Trent Ryan and Jersey Jerry led off against The Duke. On a greenside chip Trent missed the ball entirely and went down with it, his partner had to play again, and they still won the hole.
“In all my days of alternate shot, that's the first time I've ever seen another guy have to hit because the guy missed.”
They got to three up with three to play, then lost a 134-yard hole where both sides spent several shots in the bunker, when The Duke made the putt.
Wesley Bryan's team, green, beat Dalke's red side and goes on to Wednesday. “Who won for red and green?” “Green. Green.” It had gone that way all day, “in a landslide.” The defending champions are done on Day 1.
One of red's matches nearly ended before a shot: green's pair, Sam among them, was late for a 4:20 tee time, and Andrew Santino rang the rules official from the tee. If they weren't there by 4:25, they lost the match. They rolled up at 4:24 and started the first hole lying three.
Finch's and Ruffels's teams came down to the match everyone had complained about. Bobby Ray and Gruden took a one-shot lead to the last hole; Francis made a long putt; and then Gruden's side looked at the ball they had played.
It was a Titleist, not theirs. They lost the hole, the match was halved, and the two teams finished level: “Eight points. Eight points after two sessions.”
The playoff was sudden death, alternate shot, two players a side, with a new pair for every hole. Finch and Luke Kwon halved the first against Ruffels and Micah Morris, Kwon holing the putt his team needed: “We need Quan to make this or we're gone.”
For the second, Grant Horvat said he didn't want it (“I don't feel good about my golf game”) and played anyway, with Big John, against Roger Steele and Rick Shiels. Steele hit a drive his own side called “farther than anyone”; Big John found the bunker; and Big John made the putt that won it.
Finch's team plays on Wednesday. On the first playoff hole, with Ruffels's approach close, someone watching had already given up: “Just can't ever make it to the second day.”
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