The golf influencer Paige Spiranac is firing back at the professional golfer Zach Johnson after he appeared to yell “f**k off” at Masters fans who were trying to cheer for him as he finished an exasperating par-3 12th hole on Friday.
Spiranac Shoots Down Johnson
The New York Post reported that this hole did not go well for Johnson. The 2007 Masters champion finished it with a triple-bogey. As fans applauded him when he finished his six-shot hole, he responded by screaming “f**k off,” seemingly at the spectators.
This did not sit well with Spiranac, who responded hours later by blasting Johnson for his behavior at Augusta National.
“The patrons at Augusta are unbelievably supportive and mild mannered,” the 31 year-old golf influencer wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “You can’t find a more pleasant environment to play golf in. The fact ZJ said this proves he’s softer than baby poop. Such a bad look.”
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Johnson Denies Cursing Out Fans
Johnson has attempted to deny that he was cursing out Masters fans, though the above footage from the event clearly indicates that this was exactly what he was doing.
“That I swore at the patrons? That’s laughable. That’s completely laughable,” he said, according to Golf Digest. “I can’t hear the patrons, number one. Number two, I just made a triple bogey on the 12th hole that evidently is going to make me miss the cut, which at the time I knew was pretty sensitive in the sense that I needed to keep making pars.
“If I’ve said anything, which I’m not going to deny, especially if it’s on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can’t hear anything behind me,” he continued. “Does that make sense?”
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Johnson’s Previous Clash With Fans
Daily Mail reported that this isn’t the first time this year that Johnson has seemingly clashed with fans. Back in February, he lost his temper on a typically rowdy crowd at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona, voicing his frustrations at how much noise they were making.
“I’m just sick of this. Just shut up!” he fumed.
Afterwards, Johnson told reporters, “You’re hitting me at a very emotional point right now, so if I were to say if I’m gonna come back, I’d probably say no. But at the same time, I have no idea.”
“Oh, no, again, I’m not on social media, haven’t been for months upon ― maybe even close to a year,” Johnson later added, according to USA Today. “I was shown a video. I think I know which one it was because it happened multiple times where I interjected. But when I see vomiting and then guys egging on the guy to drink another beer with a middle school golf team to my right, I’m going to say something as an adult.”
As for Spiranac, she’s one of the most popular golf influencers in the world right now, garnering four million fans on Instagram and nearly one million followers on X. Given how much influence Spiranac has on golf fans, one can’t help but think that it’s very bad news for Johnson that she has turned on him so publicly over his behavior.