Paige Spiranac, a Brief Introduction

Paige Spiranac has many identities that define her in today’s world. She has been a professional athlete, playing golf in the United States since she was young. She has played at a college level and has participated in two tournaments on a professional level.

However, she has made more headlines for her brave and expressive way of dressing while playing. She has turned to social media to become an influencer and reclaim her body while fighting bullies commenting on her clothing and women’s bodies. In doing so, she has gained millions of followers online and has several magazine features.

This Is Just the Beginning

For her sophomore year, Paige decided she needed a change of pace and environment. She transferred to San Diego State University, a public research university founded in 1897. To move there, you need to have a competitive GPA, as its acceptance rate for transfer applicants is low.

She racked up a list of accomplishments in her first season, played from 2012 to 2013. Paige placed fifth at the Cal Classic and sixth at the Mountain West Championship. She was also nineteenth at the NCAA Central Regional Championship. She also managed to get a First-Team All-Mountain West honors for her university.

More Victory at Colorado

In July 2015, Paige had the chance to show the world her talents again. This time it would be at the Raccoon Creek Golf Course located in Denver. The Colorado Golf Association was hosting the 100th Colorado Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship, and Paige would participate.

She faced off against Brittany Fan in a 35-hole title match. Brittany was from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she had been a Freshman Athlete of the Year. Paige was victorious against the Hawaii native. Brittany ended her career with CU in 2018 with the second-highest stroke average of 73.16 throughout 14 events.

The Greatest in Golf —Tiger Woods

Paige believes that no one has gotten the general public as interested in Golf as Tiger Woods has. She said that golf has been fantastic since the legend won the Tour Championship. She had also praised him for coming back into the spotlight after he was shunned when news broke out of his infidelity though winning the Augusta Masters 2019. Paige thinks he was judged too harshly about matters of his personal life.

Paige believes Wood’s reentry into golf has more people watching tournaments and tuning in. However, she is worried about what will happen when he finally retires. What does the future of golf have ahead, then?

Learning to Rise Above the Negativities

After becoming a public figure, Paige has become a vocal anti-bullying advocate. She got it from experience being bullied as a child and said she struggled with feeling confident. She has become an ambassador of The Cybersmile Foundation. Her main focus is to fight cyberbullying, the act of imposing cruelty and insults thrown across the Internet affecting emotional and mental health.

Paige has been subject to harsh criticism for people on the Internet because she chooses to dress in clothing they deem inappropriate. Paige says reading the hurtful comments is tough, but she knows she has to rise above it because she was raised to be strong and independent.

Everyone Needs Someone to Lean on

Constant unsolicited opinions all over her on social media have severely compromised Paige’s mental wellness, leading to depression for the young star. She chose to speak out against it because she believed she could help save someone’s life by doing so.

The person behind her fame was her friend Dan. The golf star said he wrote an article about her for Total Frat Move that was essentially a love note. The article went viral overnight and helped Paige go from 500 followers to 100K followers in a week. Paige is still good friends with Dan and said they had had a good friendship for several years.

A Girl on a Mission

When Paige started her Instagram page, she focused less on vain photoshoots and more on posting trick-shot videos. Slowly and steadily, her followers grew. She has now reached a point where she is the most followed golf star on Instagram, surpassing Tiger Woods.

Paige has taken advantage of that and joined Gold Magazine and Golf.com as a contributor. Starting in 1959, Golf Magazine was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. Its articles include interviews, instructions, tips, and reviews. In Paige’s own words, she is “a rising golf talent, media personality” who wants to show the world how fun golf can be.

All Rounded Content Creation

Paige refuses to be bothered by critics who call her a gimmick. She said that people would have had different feelings if she were a man. In an interview, she said that she accepts who she is and enjoys creating content and being an influencer.

She also shares health and fitness tips. She also shares strategy and swing tips for anyone just starting in golf. Paige also does Question-and-Answer sessions on her Instagram story, where she connects with her fans by answering their queries. When questioned by a fan about what her favorite thing about herself was, Paige responded that it was her resilience.

Motivation to Aim for LPGA Tour

In 2015, Paige was invited to play at the Dubai Ladies Masters, a fantastic experience, as she described it. It was the first professional tour event for the social media’s favorite golf star, and she wrote an article for Golf Digest about it.

In the article, she says that she learned to stay off her phone and focus on the moment by playing the tournament. Moreover, she realized that her critics would always have something to say, but she chose to ignore the negative comments. Paige continues to write in the article that her goal is to make it on the LPGA tour.

Paige Has Found Inner Peace With Being a Content Creator

Through it all, Paige is proud of the progress she has made. In the Maxim interview, she recognizes standing her ground for what she believes in and being authentic for her success. The golf player-turned–media starlet has even motivated others, such as former tennis pro Rachel Stuhlmann who has become an influencer. She names Paige as one of her inspirations.

Paige has revealed that she had never anticipated that she would reach being famous, but she is grateful for it. She loves who she is now, and while the golfer would have enjoyed progressing further in professional golf, Paige would not trade the life she leads for the world.

Another Cover in Her Cap, This Time It’s Maxim

In June 2020, Paige made another magazine cover for Maxim. She was given the No.1 place in their Hot 100 list. Maxim declared her the most desirable woman alive. She was the first athlete to make the No.1 position in the list, a designation she considered an amazing honor in her tweet.

For the July/August Cover, Paige was photographed by Gilles Bensimon. The woman behind her wardrobe was Caroline Christiansson, who chose to put her in outfits from Pretty Little Thing, Jennifer Fisher, Nana Jaqueline, Philipp Plein, Guess, and Dos Gardenias, among others. To Paige, being desirable was about being confident and comfortable in her skin.

Life-Long Lessons From Her Cover Girl Experience

Being a cover girl, Paige said she helped reclaim her body and build her self-confidence. She said that doing swimsuit covers was very liberating. It finally made her realize that she was not inferior to anyone despite everything people said to her daily.

Speaking on her shoots, Paige said that she would have the covers and the confidence she gained from them for the rest of her life and that her critics could not take it away from her. For Paige, modeling has been a “powerful’ experience. The golfer was very grateful for the love and support that her fans had shown her throughout the years.

Paige Turns Into a Youtuber and Investor

Paige has taken advantage of her fame, and the attention people bestow on her. In 2021, she became the ambassador for PointsBet, a global sportsbook operator. On the side, she also acquired an equity stake in the company, thus advancing herself as a businesswoman.

Paige also started a Youtube channel where she teaches viewers about golf, helping them perfect their shots while answering any questions they may have. Paige also shares her golf progress with her viewers. Paige also uploads vlogs, where she talks about her life, both personal relationships and the constant media glare on her. She has accumulated over 300K followers.

Paige Keeps the Money Coming In

Unstoppable, Paige is making further business moves. In 2023, she launched a calendar to celebrate her birthday next year. The pictures were shot at the Rusty Skillet Ranch in Colorado and feature Paige in Western cowboy-themed outfits. She was inspired to do a calendar by her mom, but she says she isn’t sure if her family will be hanging this calendar up.

Paige partnered with iHeart Media to launch a weekly podcast, Playing-A-Round, with Paige Renee in 2020. The podcast focuses on sports, while Paige shares details from her life, such as telling the world that she enjoys nice arms and a sense of humor in men.

Dating Woes With Ill-Intentioned Men

On the podcast, Paige revealed what dating life has been like for her. She talked about how men would approach her only for golf lessons and equipment under the pretext of dating her. Paige would then discover that they had girlfriends all along and only used her for ulterior motives to improve their own game. There is one man that she dated for six months before she discovered the truth.

She also revealed on the podcast that her biggest heartbreak happened when she was a freshman at Arizona. She was a freshman who liked a senior guy. It was a one sided love.

Paige Thought She Had a Forever Kind of Love

Paige did eventually find someone who fell in love with her. She revealed that in 2018, she tied the knot with Steven Tinoco. Not much is known about their relationship, other than Paige saying in June 2020 that they led a quiet home life.

Tinoco, a fitness trainer, met Paige right at the beginning of her career. Paige was all praises for him, saying he is very understanding and would help her by giving tips for Instagram photos. In 2022, Paige revealed that they had separated recently and said it motivated her to move out of her place in Colorado to get a fresh start.

Paige Knew That Dubai Was a Double-Edged Sword

Paige was honest about her initial lack of skill. She knew she was not good enough to be in Dubai in 2015 but could not say no to the invitation. Promoters and organizers had reached out to her in July after observing her Instagram. They told her they wanted her there to bring attention to the tournament.

Paige said she had just turned pro and had only been playing for San Diego State, where she had to divide her time between playing and focusing on her education. She had accepted the invitation to gain playing experience but knew it would lead to media exposure, but it was necessary.

Paige Was Back in Dubai for Round 2

Paige was back in Dubai in 2016 to participate in the Omega Ladies Master. In a press conference, she broke down crying because of the cyberbullying she faced after participating in last year’s event. With rounds of 77 and 80 on the Majlis layout, she finished 13 over par.

Paige was nine shots shy of the cut at +4, allowing her to advance further. Unfortunately for Paige, she did not make it at the 2016 event either and invited more and more criticism. In an interview with the Guardian, Paige said she had it rough both times, and with media attention, she found it tough to play.

Paige Puts on a Brave Face Against Death Threats and Public Put Downs

Playing in Dubai came at a very severe cost to her mental health. She was being targeted over social media by anonymous trolls, and things escalated quickly when she started receiving death threats. The sad part is they were also targeting her family.

Paige said amidst the death threats, blackmailing and invasion of privacy, all she wanted to do was play. A problem arose when some of golf’s most outstanding female players started targeting Paige. Laura Davies said Paige deserves a chance to prove herself, and if she’s a good player, she is suitable to be in European Tour’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

Hannah O’Sullivan Is the One to Beat and Paige Did So

Paige made her professional debut on American soil in 2016 at the Cactus Tour. The Cactus Tour is an unofficial mini-tour geared explicitly toward women golfers. Paige managed to silence her critics because she won. It was a sudden-death win in her third start.

Paige had beaten Hannah O’Sullivan, who was then the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world at Scottsdale Orange Tree County club. O’Sullivan had played golf for Duke University and was the youngest to win at the 2015 Gateway Classic. She had also won the U.S Women’s Amateur the same year while also qualifying for the U.S Women’s Open.

Continuing Her Reign of Success on American Soil

Paige competed in more tours and tournaments and achieved relative success. At Stallion Mountain, she placed 9th, winning $800. She finished 17th at the Aliante Golf Club and won another cash prize, this time $575 because of a twelve-over par score.

The following month, she had an eight-over-par score helping her finish 7th place in Texas. Like in all previous tournaments, she received a cash prize. She was eligible for the Scottish Open in the Ladies European Tour the same month. She wasn’t done yet, as she participated in the August/September 2016 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, where she got a cash prize of $1,750.

Paige Tries for the LPGA Professional Circuit

Paige continued to hustle, and in September 2016, she went to Phoenix to play at Legacy. She finished 2nd place, one of her best positions of the season but had to share the win with two other opponents. She was awarded $935 for her efforts. In October, at Trilogy, she won $800 after she finished in the top 5 with a two-under-par score in the final round.

In 2016, Paige got her first chance at realizing her life-long golf dream—she got to participate in a tournament that would help qualify her for her first LPGA professional circuit. Unfortunately, she did not make the cut.

Fighting Back the Critics

Paige answers back to the constant criticism she faces, saying that it is unfair to base her accomplishments and talent on her looks or the clothes she wears. In an article, she explained that social media is a powerful tool needed to give golf the attention it deserves. She embraces it because she wants to draw people to the game.

Paige says she is dedicated to the sport and recognizes her background as a gymnast for teaching her the importance of hard work. She also emphasizes to the women that if they play, it must mean they are good because golf is not an easy sport.

Money and Deals Keep On Rolling In

Paige said that one of the reasons for creating her social media page was for financial benefits. When she began playing initially, she had no sponsors to help her being golf is an expensive sport. Even a beginner needs around ten golf clubs, and golf players spend between $500 to $2500 on one set.

With her social media presence and eventual success, she got many sponsors. She has managed to get endorsement deals from golf apps such as 18Birdies to market the app worldwide. She also signed with Parsons Xtreme Golf to promote their golf equipment. She has also been an ambassador of Mizzen + Main, and Philip Stein Watches.

The Honor of Sports Illustrated

In 2018, Paige was chosen to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. The pictures immediately went viral. Paige was excited to appear on the cover since iconic models and athletes had also appeared in the same magazine.

Paige told SI Swim that she gets “chills” every time she thinks about her cover because the golfer did not imagine, even in her wildest dreams, that she would get the opportunity to shoot for the magazine. The pictures featured her at the beach, posing alongside cliffs and natural creations while wearing a shiny gold top in one photo.

Golf Digest Says Paige Is the Future of Golf

She was previously chosen to appear on the cover of Golf Digest in 2016, an opportunity that is rarely given to women golfers. Golfer’s Digest promoted her under the Futurists section.

In their write-up of Paige, they referred to her as someone who had made golf slightly enjoyable to people and recognized Paige with golf’s changing paths to stardom. There was significant criticism of the cover, though with some unhappy spectators that the cover should be someone else. They said that Paige was featured only to sell the magazine. Regardless, Paige nudged the negative comments and still graced the magazine with her beauty.

Golf Digest and Its Lack of Inclusion of Women

In 2017, Golf Digest had existed for 66 years. At that time, they had only had 24 women on the cover, having Paige and the other non-golf professionals; Kate Upton, Holly Sonders, and Paulina Gretzky.

In the last eight years since 2008, only three women appeared on the cover; Lorena Ochoa in August 2008, Michelle Wie in October 2014, and Lexi Thompson in May 2015. Commenting on the cover, Stacy Lewis said that she wished an LPGA Player had been given the honor and referred to Golf Digest as the “anomaly” that wasn’t taking notice of female golf athletes when all other platforms were.

Paige Wants to Uplift Other Women

Paige was not fazed by the criticism even when Anya Alvarez said that Paige was not the type of innovating future generation. In an interview with the Guardian, Paige clarified that she is not doing the pros in golf because she believes life is already fantastic for them.

Paige is well aware of this and said she recognized why LPGA women golfers did not like her. She believed that other women athletes deserved more attention and that she would love to use her platform to amplify them. Overall, she just wanted to bring more spotlight to the sport while uplifting others.

Standing Up Against the New Rule of LPGA

In July 2017, when LPGA introduced a more modest dress code for women, there was immense criticism from news outlets. Paige wrote a piece criticizing them entitled “The Progression of Women’s Golf Is Plunging Further than Our Necklines.” Paige called out the new dress code policy that included no leggings, joggers, or plunging necklines.

Referring to herself both as an ambassador for golf and an advocate for women’s rights, she wrote that she recognized the need to have rules and regulations in golf as part of a tradition that needs to be upheld. However, the newer policies were stifling the growth of women’s golf.

A Bad Ordeal With a Bitter Ex

Paige had a fair share of tragic dating experiences. The person she was with was using intimate photos to blackmail her, which took a toll on her mentally. Paige revealed these details after a mean comment addressed to her on Twitter accusing her of crying over tv to get a playing exemption. It was a reference to her 2016 Dubai press conference about cyberbullying.

Paige explained that her display of emotion was blackmailing. 2 minutes before she was set to talk to the media, she was presented with the act of stealing private property, and threats were being delivered to her life.