Day 2 of the Internet Invitational is done and dusted, with some excellent performances across the two episodes, a healthy dose of meltdowns, and some requisite controversy to keep us all happy. And while some of Day 1’s best performers carried their momentum into the second day, a handful of others proved unable to maintain their level, wilting under the pressure as the final 16 loomed. Take a look at the grades of all 32 players who competed in Episodes 3 and 4 below.
A reminder: every one of these grades is based on expected performance, not actual output. If we were ranking these players purely on how they played, you could bank a bunch of them as A+ and a bunch as an F without even watching the videos. Wesley’s absolute worst day would still be a very good day for the vast majority of the field, and the reverse is true for The Duke - as he highlighted in Episode 4.
Big John: A-
Big John is making a serious name for himself the last couple of weeks. The star of the tournament so far, he had another excellent day for Team White across Episodes 3 and 4, knocking off George and Chaz 2&1 alongside Fat Perez in the morning before beating a former PGA Tour China pro in Sam Heung Min in the afternoon. He was also at the centre of a controversy when Sam suggested he’d given his ball a little nudge out of a dodgy lie on the fairway, but he has even seemed to come out of that with the support of the masses.
Bobby Berger: E
After starring on Day 1 and earning himself the plaudits of our markers with an A, Bobby fell in a heap on Day 2 with some genuinely horrendous golf. Granted he managed to chalk up a win with Wesley against Ruffels and Riggs in the morning, but if he contributed 3 shots to that scramble I’d be surprised. In the singles he was even worse, with Justin Gaethje sending him crawling out of the Octagon in just six holes. Given he didn’t finish a hole his exact score isn’t clear, but through those six holes Bob shot at least +12.
Bobby Ray: A-
If Bobby Berger suffered the biggest fall from grace from Day 1 to Day 2, Bobby Ray might have enjoyed the most meteoric rise. After flaying balls all over the place in the first two episodes, he latched onto a couple of monstrous tee shots in the Episode 3 scramble to lead he and the Duke to a 3&2 victory. He didn’t get too much of a go at things in the singles, with the overall match ending when he was just a few holes into his clash with Tisha Alyn, but nonetheless he played some very solid golf.
Bubbie: B
It was a tale of two halves for Bubbie on Day 2. He and Marissa played well to knock off Evan and Tisha in the morning, a win punctuated by his electric tee ball on the par 3 9th to essentially net himself $25k. The afternoon was a different story. He was put right back in his box by the impressive Mac Boucher, going down 4&3 – part of that was due to Mac shooting under par, but Bubbie was +5 through 6 holes, well below par by his standards.
Callux: C-
Given he’s one of the highest handicappers at the event, it’s hard for Callux to play too far below expectations, but he gave it a shot. It certainly wasn’t all his fault, but he and PFT got beaten 3 down by Salim and Gruden – not exactly a dream team – in the morning, before his match against the Duke was cut short by the overall match finishing. He was at least leading that singles clash, but that was nothing to get too excited about given the Duke was about +20 through 4.
Chaz: B-
Chaz didn’t pick up a win on Day 2, going down to Big John and FP alongside George before his singles match against Marissa wasn’t completed. He was solid in the second of those though, remaining on level terms with Marissa, who is very good, through the first few holes.
Cheddy: B-
It’s very possible that Cheddy can’t remember Day 2, but he was part of one of the more entertaining match-ups of the Internet Invitational to date against Riggs. Charging Cheddy was 1 up on Riggs heading down 18 after losing his morning match, but unfortunately failed to find his tee shot because he didn’t know what ball he was playing. Unsurprisingly that proved quite costly and he went on to tie the match. Stick to TaylorMade’s from now on Cheddy.
Claire: B+
One of only a handful of players undefeated through the first four episodes, Claire was once again solid on Day 2. Her and Sam (Uber for Claire?) tied a quality scramble match with Micah Morris and Ryan Whitney, before she won a singles match she probably wasn’t expected to against Paige Spiranac. Granted that was largely to do with Paige struggling though – Claire shot +5 through the 9 holes. Still, a solid day out for her.
Cole: B+
Cole played really well on Day 1 and was again solid on Day 2, with he and Seb tying their match with Grant and Gaethje, a match which included one of the best shots of the tournament when he nearly holed a fairway wood to set up a tap-in eagle. He didn’t have much say in the afternoon, being sent out when the overall match was nearly over and only playing a few holes.
Evan: B+
Evan was awesome on Day 1, and while he couldn’t quite back that up on Day 2 he still had his moments. He and Tish lost 2 down to Bubbie and Marissa in the morning, but Evan came out and shot -2 in the singles to beat Grant Horvat. That match was tied heading down 18 before Evan pulled off another of the best shots of the tournament, cannoning his second shot on the par 5 into the flag to set up a match-winning eagle.
Gaethje: B+
Gaethje has been the surprise packet of the Internet Invitational so far, and had another good day on Day 2 with a draw in the scramble and a dominant win in his singles match against Bob. But we can’t give him too much credit for the latter of those – he won 4&3 while shooting +5 through 6, a true testament to how shit Bob played.
George: B-
No wins for Georgey boy on Day 2, losing his scramble with Chaz before tying a good singles match with Micah in the afternoon. If my calculations are correct, he actually beat Micah by 4 shots off the stick with an even par 9 holes, but nonetheless, with no wins it’s hard to give him much better than a B-.
Grant: B-
Also a winless day for Grant on Day 2, with a draw in the scramble and a last-hole loss to Evan Thompson in the singles match. He played fine, shooting +1 in the singles match, and also sunk a clutch putt on the 9th in the morning to effectively win his team $200k, but a draw and a loss wasn’t an ideal day out.
Gruden: B+
Gruden’s Day 2 was what the Internet Invitational is all about. While Grant Horvat, George Bryan and co are out there shooting even par and losing, Coach Gruden enjoyed two decisive victories while probably playing to around a 20 handicap. He and Salim carved up PFT and Callux like a Christmas ham in the morning, before Coach won 3 up against PFT. It’s worth noting that in the second of those victories, Coach didn’t exactly shoot the lights out, managing +10 in the 6 holes that he was required to complete to dispose of his opponent, but as the old adage goes, there’s no commentary on the scorecard.
Jake: B+
Jake is pretty good. He played some great golf in the morning en route to a win with Paige in the scramble, which included an absolute dart to win his pair $50k on the 9th. He was another victim of the one-sided Team Green vs Team White match-up in the afternoon, with his singles match being abandoned early and not getting much airtime.
Kyle: C+
Given the overall match was a whitewash, Kyle’s capitulation in the singles match didn’t matter too much, but a capitulation it was nonetheless. 1 up with two to play against Salim, who at that stage would have struggled to recount the alphabet forwards let alone backwards, Kyle lost 17 with a double bogey. On the 18th green, he had a 10-15 footer to win. He put it 2 feet past, then missed that 2-footer to lose the match. In fairness he was, by his own admission, absolutely blind, but still not a great day.
Mac: A-
Mac wasn’t at his best during the morning scramble, but he more than made up for it in the singles, in which he was arguably the best player on a course including numerous far more credentialled players. He was lights out against Bubbie, with three birdies in six holes leading to a dominant 4&3 win which was very fun to watch.
Marissa: B+
Marissa is among the most steady players at the Internet Invitational, and she was once again unflappable on Day 2. Her and Bubbie picked up a solid 2 up win against Tisha and Evan in the morning, though her singles match against Chaz came to a premature close due to the overall results.
Micah: B-
A pair of draws for Micah, though he was probably lucky to get away with one in the singles against George. He was far from his best in that match, with four bogeys and a double in his 9 holes, but he still got away with a half against a very good player.
Paige: C-
By her own admission, not the best day on the course for Paige. She at least picked up a win in the morning alongside Jake, but for her level was really bad in the afternoon. She was +8 through 7 against Claire Hogle, and even an excellent 2 on 17 wasn’t enough to get her the chocolates.
Perez: A-
A very good day out for FP with a pair of wins. He and Big John have proven to be a solid team, bonding in Episode 3 over their shared aversion to compliments from friends. They beat George and Chaz 2&1 there, before FP shot a solid +2 in the afternoon session to beat Seb 2&1.
PFT: D
PFT has a low bar to clear to meet expectations, but he didn’t even get off the ground in his attempts to do so on Day 2. After he was actually pretty solid on Day 1, PFT suffered two big losses in Episodes 3 and 4, the singles loss particularly damning. PFT was +13 through 5 against Gruden; he then conceded the 6th hole after 6 shots didn’t even get him halfway to the green, before losing the match with another triple on the 7th. At best he was +20 through 7.
Riggs: B+
Riggs was in everything on Day 2; close matches, snipes from Dave, near fist fights with drunken Minnesotans. But the end result was a win in the scramble and a tie in the singles, so not a bad day out. Riggs cops it for being probably a bit cranky and serious at times, and he was as cranky and serious as it gets on the 18th against a hammered Cheddy. But full credit to the man, he pulled out a really solid par when he needed it most to tie that match, gallivanting around the green complex like Tiger at the Masters before he and Cheddy delivered one of the most intense post-round handshakes of all time. Say what you want about the guy, but he produced some very good content on Day 2.
Ruffels: B
It’s hard to imagine Ruffels deviating too far on this grading spectrum. He is as steady as they come, and while he didn’t pick up a win on Day 2 he didn’t do much wrong. He and Riggs just went down to Wesley and Bob in the morning, before Ruff and Wes played out a draw in the singles in which they both shot -1.
Sabrina: B+
Sabrina also failed to pick up a win on Day 2, but I still think she played above expectations on the day. Her and Mac just barely went down to Jake and Paige in the morning, before she managed to take Whitney all the way to the 18th in the singles – bearing in mind that Whitney is a pretty low handicap, he would’ve been favourite in that clash off the same tees. Their match ended up unfinished, with Whitney 1 up heading to the 18th.
Salim: A-
The full spectrum of human emotion was on show throughout Salim’s second day at the Internet Invitational. There was pure elation, there was rage, and there was a lot of random running and semi-consensual hugs. The end result, however, was two big wins for Salim the Dream, whose day ended when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on the 18th green against Kyle. Fortunately that moment was caught on camera, because Salim probably can’t remember it.
Sam: C
Sam is now challenging Luke Kwon for the most unwilling participant in controversy at the Internet Invitational in history. Given he doesn’t exactly seem the type to crave the spotlight, it’s hard to imagine Sam flagging Big John’s ball moving if that’s not what he saw – as a big fan of both of them, I’m on both teams. The ball probably moved, and it was probably an accident. Anyway, that aside Sam unfortunately didn’t play all that well, particularly in the singles against Big John, shooting +5 through 7. He went +4 in the three holes after the moving ball moment, so it’s safe to assume he was rattled.
Seb: B
Seb again played some solid golf on Day 2, though didn’t pick up a win across his two matches. Still, he and Cole tied with Grant Horvat and Justin Gaethje in the morning, before Seb fell just short against a very good player in FP in the afternoon, shooting +3 in 8 holes.
The Duke: C-
Some pretty weird stuff out there from the Duke. He and Bobby Ray won their morning match 3&2, but there was a lot of Bobby Ray in that win. The Duke’s best moment, and one which bumped him up from an even lower score, came on the 9th when he sunk a clutch putt to win he and Bobby Ray $50k. The afternoon wasn’t quite as fruitful. The Duke’s match didn’t actually finish, but the holes he did play and which were aired went as follows; a triple bogey, a quadruple bogey, and a concession after taking 9 shots to get the ball to the fairway. He was on track for a triple-figure score in 9 holes.
Tisha: B-
It was a pretty quiet day for Tisha. She and Evan lost the morning scramble 2 down to Bubbie and Marissa, but she definitely didn’t play badly and hit a great shot into the 9th with $50k on the line. Her afternoon match was irrelevant due to the overall match situation, but she was tied with Bobby Ray through the few holes they played.
Wesley: B+
A typical Wesley Bryan day. He didn’t seem to be playing at his best by any means, but he managed to win his morning scramble basically on his own given the way Bob was playing, before tying his afternoon singles with Ruffels with a score of -1.
Whit: B
No results either way for Whit on Day 2, with a draw and then an unfinished singles match, but he played solid. He was leading by a hole heading into 18 against Sabrina, having shot +2 through his 8 holes to that point, and he gets a bonus point for being relatively entertaining across the two episodes.
And just like that, Day 2 is done and dusted, and just 16 players remain – with four more to be cut at the beginning of Episode 5. The end is nigh, and the penultimate episode drops at 1pm ET on Monday, 9 November.
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