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Will Zalatoris’ putting adventure at the WGC-Dell Match Play in Texas on Wednesday was brutal to watch — even for golf influencer Paige Spiranac.
He appeared to miss a putt inside 10 feet and got frustrated with himself as he moved his putter to prevent his ball from further rolling away from the cup.
Spiranac reacted on Twitter with a seemingly innocuous tweet.
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Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the second tee during day one of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
"This made me gag," she wrote.
However, fans of Spiranac immediately turned the post around on her with inappropriate comments in her mentions. The former collegiate athlete expressed some regret.
"I hit send on the tweet then immediately regretted my choice of words," she wrote.
Zalatoris lost his first match to Andrew Putnam.
Spiranac is one of the most popular golf influencers on social media with millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok.
She previously opened up on her decision to not pursue a career in the professional ranks after her time at Arizona and San Diego State. With the Aztecs, Spiranac received First-Team All-Mountain West Conference honors. She would participate in the Cactus Tour but fall short of getting an LPGA Tour card.
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Paige Spiranac participates in the Berenberg Invitational in Bedford Hills, New York, on Oct. 4, 2021. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Berenberg Invitational)
"So many growing pains," she said. "I was burnt out of, I wouldn’t say golf, just dedicating my life to something and not really seeing the results. With gymnastics, it was hard because I was fighting injuries, and then with golf — golf is such an interesting sport because you can work out, eat right, practice and still not achieve your goals. That was something for me that I just couldn’t wrap my head around.
"It also went against everything that my parents ever told me because I come from two athletes. They always said, ‘If you put the work in, and you dedicate your life to something, you will be successful.’ But that just wasn’t happening with golf, and I was driving myself crazy because I felt like I should be achieving at a much higher level. … I had everything to be a world-class golfer, but I just couldn’t put it together, and I didn’t know why. It was driving me actually insane."
Spiranac eventually decided to shift her focus from golf.
"I just got to the point where I just stopped caring. I wanted to have more of a social life. I wanted to have fun. I was tired of dedicating my life to something and just not seeing the result. So, when I was playing at SDSU, I just lost my desire for it," she said.
Paige Spiranac poses for photographs on Day One of the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 1, 2019. (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
She currently works with several brands and attends events as a golf influencer. Spiranac said she is content with her current career, but if she had the choice, she would pick playing competitively over influencing.
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"If I had the choice to be doing what I’m doing to play on the LPGA Tour, I would probably pick the LPGA Tour because that was just a goal that I’ve always wanted to achieve, and it was a dream of mine — and I wish I could’ve checked that off before I went over into doing media work full time," Spiranac said. "But that’s not how life works."
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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