PAIGE SPIRANAC’S pro golf days may be over but she is still one of the biggest names in the sport.
The American burst onto the scene in 2016 and picked up her first tour win on the developmental Cactus Tour in Queen Creek, Arizona, at the Las Colinas club.
She ended the season with a few more high-placed finishes and pocketed $8,000 (£6,700) – a far cry from what she earns now thanks to her social media popularity.
Spiranac, 29, is now paid more per Instagram post than golf legend Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
But she only turned to social media after her attempts to break onto the professional circuit failed in 2016 when she did not earn a card at an LPGA Qualifying Tournament.
Her appearance was not without success however as it boosted her already significant profile, leading to a partnership with Parsons Xtreme Golf.
Spiranac later became a brand ambassador for 18Birdies and joined PointsBet, becoming a shareholder in the sportsbook operator.
As a result the ex-golfer has built a business worth around $3.7million (£3.1m), and rakes in an estimated $12,000 (£10,000) per Instagram post.
That is $2k more than the next golfer earns – Woods, who boasts 3m Instagram followers compared to Spiranac’s 3.6m.
Spiranac often wows her fans with revealing photos and she is not ashamed to admit it.
After it was revealed that she topped the male-dominated list of which golfers had the most followers on Instagram, Spiranac responded: “This just in. Men like golf and boobs.”
The influencer’s newfound fame and gorgeous looks have not gone unnoticed with Maxim magazine naming her the “Sexiest Woman Alive” for 2022.
She is grateful for the mainstream attention that tag has brought her – but the Colorado-native revealed there are downsides to her popularity.
Spiranac recently had to warn her fans of fake copycat accounts posing as her to steal money from them.
The University of Arizona alumni was also attacked by vile trolls who called her “fat” and “ugly” after being named Maxim’s sexiest woman.
While at university the social media personality was stalked by a group of girls and was forced to delete her Instagram and change her name, which is why she now goes by Paige Renee on the platform.
Spiranac also revealed she had been bullied all of her life, including over hair loss as a youngster.
She said: “I’ve been bullied my entire life. I get slut shamed, I get harassed, I get death threats for wearing the stuff that I do.
“No one ever looks at the person I am or the good work that I do.
“People say these things and think they’re funny or it has no affect on that person and think words don’t mean anything but words cut deep, they really do.”
