Inside the world of the relentlessly dedicated trackers on golf Twitter
Davis Riley was surely feeling tense during his head-to-head playoff matchup against Sam Burns at the 2022 Valspar Championship, a showdown that Burns eventually won. But aside from the two competitors themselves, the guy behind riley_tracker on Twitter might’ve been the most stressed person in the golfing world.
That user’s name, like the rest of the pages that’ll be mentioned in the paragraphs to come, will remain a mystery in this story in order to preserve the aura of the folks dedicated/crazy enough to pass along shot-by-shot updates, commentary, stats and much more on whatever golfer they’ve chosen to follow ever so closely. GCTigerTracker and its 412.6 thousand followers on Twitter represents the most famous example of such a social media account, but the “tracking” phenomenon has spread all the way from the sport’s most notable name to names that aren’t very notable at all.
Riley_tracker, for instance, came into existence because of its boss’ longtime appreciation for the sweet-swinging righty who’s currently 84th in the Official World Golf Ranking (they first crossed paths when the former watched the latter at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, a final that also featured Scottie Scheffler). Riley, who’s made nearly $6 million since joining the PGA Tour full-time in 2019 and logged a win at the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, is absolutely no slouch — but he’s also someone only the most hardcore golf fans would have any sort of file on.
So, back to riley_tracker’s Valspar Championship-related angst.
In the real world, riley_tracker — whose interests outside of the 26-year-old pro include singing and acting — was actually on stage for a musical theater production while the heated playoff was unfolding. What ensued was a balancing act that would’ve made a tightrope walker proud.
“All I could do was rush back to the dressing room and check the scores and provide updates that way,” riley_tracker recalled. “Sometimes that happens!”
There are others — many others, in fact — who can relate to that level of grind.
Take RMTracker, for one. He initially chose to cover the decorated Rory McIlroy on Instagram when, in middle school, he bet a buddy $50 he could reach a thousand followers in his first week of doing so. By the third day, he explained, he had scooped the cash and the clout. Eventually, the Instagram ballooned to hundreds of thousands of followers, though it was sadly silenced over a copywright infringement.
RMTracker lives on on Twitter, though, and he’s almost done with schooling entirely. That means he’s spent years intensely analyzing all of McIlroy’s exploits and, miraculously, doesn’t seem to exhibit any fatigue from the serious side gig.
“I still enjoy watching and cheering for him the same as I did when I was 15 years old,” RMTracker said. “I have no idea when it’ll stop. I will say that it definitely won’t expire until he gets his, in my opinion, inevitable green jacket.”
Much like RMTracker, Spieth_Tracker has been at it for an extended period of time (since 2015, to be precise). Growing up in Dallas meant Spieth_Tracker heard about the massively-talented Jordan Spieth often, and once Spieth captured the 2015 U.S. Open, his fellow Texan opted to dive into the tracking game.
Since debuting on Twitter, Spieth_Tracker has interacted online with athletes and celebrities alike who care for the three-time major champion. There have been chats with Jordan himself — multiple trackers reached for this piece have met or spoken with the players they tail, in fact — and members of Spieth’s family. Yet maybe the peak of Spieth_Tracker’s hustle occurred in May of 2022, when a couple of his most loyal followers fueled a special appearance.
“Some of my fans pitched in to help me make the trip to attend the PGA Championship last year in Tulsa,” Spieth_Tracker said. “That was surreal.”
While the overall amount of work that’s required to successfully track is rather baffling — interviewees detailed how they’re glued to sites like datagolf.com or apps like Bet365 for hours during their players’ outings and will aim to keep weekends clear for as many tournaments as possible — it’s not all that surprising that stars like McIlroy and Spieth have such steadfast supporters. Golf isn’t as huge as football or hoops, but still, its top studs are awfully popular.
What is surprising, however, is that there’s someone like the aforementioned riley_tracker or, say, HenleyLegion, who is focused solely on Russell Henley. Henley’s a 34-year-old with four PGA Tour victories on his very solid résumé who could probably walk into any gas station in the country, purchase a bag of Cheetos and walk out without causing a second’s worth of stir. Of course, that doesn’t matter to the high schooler in charge of HenleyLegion, who once ran into Henley at a country club and created the page soon thereafter.
“The ups and downs you feel when you’re tracking, especially when he’s in contention and you want everything to go your way,” HenleyLegion said when asked to identify what’s hardest about the hobby. “It’s really difficult to stay with a player who’s in a slump, but when he wins, you track forever because you want that feeling again.”
As far as trackers who’ve gained respect across the community of diehards, Rickie_Tracker is one account that was mentioned a couple of times. Rickie_Tracker’s tone is truly perfect for a Rickie Fowler enthusiast: It fluctuates from joyous to jaded in the time it takes Fowler to hit one wedge shot, which is fitting for a tweeter who’s devoted to the lovable but maddening 34-year-old.
“It’s fun, especially when you get a crowd in the replies,” Rickie_Tracker said, which happens often for him.
Perhaps no tracker in the world is more intertwined with their golfer than SungjaeTracker, which chronicles the career of Sungjae Im. The origins of SungjaeTracker go far beyond the typical He’s my favorite, so why not tweet about him a ton? formula.
SungjaeTracker’s dad was diagnosed with aplastic anemia when SungjaeTracker was a teenager. The rare disease forced his father to undergo bone marrow transplants and chemotherapy, lose his teeth and hair and experience countless other hardships. One thing aplastic anemia didn’t impact, fortunately, was the man’s love of golf.
It was SungjaeTracker’s dad who introduced SungjaeTracker to Im, and together, the two grew to be “in awe of the composure and talent that Sungjae possessed.” In March 2020, Im completed his breakthrough with a first-place finish at the Honda Classic. Conveniently enough, SungjaeTracker’s father previously scheduled a visit to Phoenix to see his son the next week, and once he was there, he made sure to deliver an I told you so about Im to him.
Sadly, an accident shortly after that pushed the head of the family into hospice, and the decision was ultimately made to “free him of his pain,” SungjaeTracker said. From there, an account with a lot of personal meaning was launched.
“My father created my bond to golf, he was an incredible golfer himself and when I was young he would take me out and teach me how to play,” SungjaeTracker said. “Sungjae became a reminder of my father and I created the account to honor him. I have tracked him every week since.”
Incredibly, Im and his circle have established a legitimate relationship with SungjaeTracker. Im’s caddy mailed SungjaeTracker a signed flag from the 18th hole of the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open, a tournament that Im won. Im also once sent a video wishing SungjaeTracker a happy birthday.
“Sungjae knows I exist!” SungjaeTracker proclaimed proudly.
Therein lies the greatest upside of these accounts — but far from the lone positive.
For riley_tracker, he enjoys backing a largely unproven golfer and watching as Riley encounters the rewards and adversity of his difficult profession. For RMTracker, the opportunity to engage with people from all over the world about McIlroy is what keeps him coming back. And for HenleyLegion, he simply likes spreading the word about an athlete that he met and believes is relatable.
When it comes to the proliferation of trackers, meanwhile, Spieth_Tracker put it best. While answering a question about when he may individually retire, he responded with a quote that no doubt applies to his peers, too.
“We’re not slowing down anytime soon,” he said.
