A year ago, the Internet Invitational put $1 million on the line for 48 golf creators, and the number was the headline. This summer, $1 million is where the conversation starts.
The Internet Invitational
Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports ran the first one at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri last August. It aired as six episodes in the fall and passed 30 million views. The winning trio of Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody "Beef" Franke split the $1 million.
For this year's edition, Barstool has confirmed a pot 300% bigger than last year's: $4 million.
Your Golf Tour
YGT, run by Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros, paid out $500,000 at its opening stop at Pursell Farms: $250,000 to the winning team down to $25,000 for fourth. Its season ends with a $1 million stroke-play championship at Wynn Las Vegas, and the tour's own videos bill it as the road to $3 million.
- 2025 Internet Invitational $1 million
- 2026 Internet Invitational $4 million
- YGT stop 1 $500,000 across four teams
- YGT championship $1 million
Why the money keeps going up
The prize is partly the product. Big numbers make the videos more watchable, and the watching is what pays for them. The quality of golf has gone up with it: YGT picked its 16 players for skill first and personality second.
For viewers, it means more of what made last year work: real stakes and golfers who can play. The question for the rest of the year is whether the audience grows as fast as the purses.
Sources: Golf Digest (1 June, 2026 Internet Invitational prize money); Wikipedia and MyGolfSpy (2025 Internet Invitational); ygtour.com (Pursell Farms payouts); Golf Digest (YGT announcement and roster).