When Paige Spiranac thought girls would “embarrass the boys” if they played against each other in 'the Match'
Former US golfer Paige Spiranac once said that female competitors would "embarrass" their male counterparts if they locked horns at The Match. Spiranac emerged to be a social media sensation after her early retirement from the sport. Over the years, she has amassed a following of 4 million on Instagram.
Along with creating golf content, Spiranac has been vocal about the happenings in golf. Back in August 2023, she had appeared on the Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams and spoke about "The Match".
For the unversed, "The Match" is a series of exhibition golf contests that features prominent golfers, NFL and NBA players going head on at the golf course. The series started with a much-anticipated Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson event in 2018. Over the years, the contest featured Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Steph Curry etc.
When asked who she would like to see next, Paige Spiranac had answered that she would like to see more female representation in the event.
"It's gonna be a bit of a hot take but I'm sick of seeing it NFL players do The Match and game players. I want to see some women competing! Why don't we do a little combination where we have some LPGA Pros? Give me Justin Korda. Give me Nelly Korda. And then you can throw in a Steph Curry and Aaron Rodgers," Spiranac said
The former golfer further said that people "would be blown away" after witnessing the LPGA pros' games. She opined that the girls would "absolutely" embarass the boys.
"But I think like this battle of the sexes. Or you could do a combined team, like that is what I want to see. And I think people would be blown away by how good these girls are on the LPGA Tour. It is mind-blowing how straight they hit it, how far they hit it (and) how many putts they make. They would absolutely embarrass the boys," Spiranac said.
Paige Spiranac's wishes came true as the 2024 edition of The Match featured LPGA Tour players Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang, as they faced off against Max Homa and Rory McIlroy in a 12-hole skins game.
The event held at the Park Golf Course in Florida saw McIlroy hit closest-to-pin in a one shot chip-off that determined the winner. The Northern Irish golfer earned 10 skins in the final scoring. Thompson had two while the others had zero.
How did Paige Spiranac fare in the 2024 Creator Classic?
The 2024 Creator Classic was a special event organised for the first time ever by the PGA Tour. It was held on the eve of the Tour Championship and featured sixteen of the best golf content creators including Paige Spiranac. It was her return to professional golf after eight years of retirement.
The Creator Classic was a nine-hole play with all participants getting to play the first eight holes. However, only the top four finishers would get to play the final hole. Unfortunately, Spiranac couldn't qualify for the final hole and ended her campaign at 2 over par.
Luke Kwon went on to win the first edition of the tournament against Wesley Bryan in the final playoff. Despite her loss, Spiranac was happy about her participation in the event. According to PGA Tour she said:
"There’s really no place for our followers to watch us in person, so to have this opportunity for us to be together in a competitive setting where they can see all of us at the same time is unlike anything we ever expected. I think it’s special for us and special for them. It’s just been a crazy, amazing experience,"
The final leaderboard of the 2024 Creator Classic was:
- Luke Kwon (winner after playoff) 1-under
- Wesley Bryan 2-under
- Roger Steele 1-under
- Sean Walsh 1-under
- Brad Dalke even
- Micah Morris even
- Peter Finch even
- George Bryan IV 1-over
- Paige Spiranac 2-over
- Gabby Golfgirl 3-over
- Mason Nutt 4-over
- Aimee Cho 4-over
- Fat Perez 5-over
- Garrett Clark 6-over
- Mac Boucher 7-over
- Tyler Toney 10-over