Rylee Arnold was on site at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia on Wednesday for the practice rounds and Par-3 contest. She was allowed to use her phone throughout the entire day even though former British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia was removed from the grounds for the same behavior.
If it seems like a double standard, it’s because it is!
The most prestigious tournament in golf makes exceptions to its rules for content creators, so long as they are equipped with a media credential. It begs the question: are influencers considered media?
Who is Rylee Arnold?
For those who do not know, Arnold is one of the most popular pro on Dancing With The Stars. She started on the Junior version of the show in 2018 and later joined the main competition series in 2023.
It was something of a perfect storm for popularity. Arnold joined the cast just as DWTS was on a major upward swing in terms of ratings and she became the first pro born in the 21st century to advance to the finale, which made her an overwhelming fan favorite amongst the younger generations.
The 20-year-old has more than three million followers on both TikTok and Instagram combined.
Rylee Arnold was in attendance at The Masters on Wednesday with her boyfriend Walker Lyons.
She filmed a lot of content on the grounds at Augusta National Golf Club from just outside the ropes.
It was all vertical video optimized for social. Even Jason Kelce got in on the action, kind of.
Here is a full recap of her Wednesday:
To see these kinds of videos from Augusta National is quite jarring considering the tournament’s strict policy on phones. However, there are exceptions and exemptions to/from every rule…
Mark Calcavecchia was kicked out of The Masters for using his phone.
The Masters has a strict, zero-tolerance policy against the use of cellphones, tablets and laptops on the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club. That goes for any electronic device that is capable of transmitting photos or videos. Electronic watches (Apple Watch, etc.) are fine. Still cameras are allowed during the practice rounds from Monday to Wednesday but strictly prohibited on tournament days.
Violations are punishable by immediate expulsion from the event and, in most cases, permanent ticket revocation. Security will escort you off of the property for just having a phone in your pocket.
According to multiple reports, that exact scenario happened to 1989 British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia. He was removed from Augusta National by security on Tuesday for using his phone.
Rylee Arnold was not.
The 20-year-old social media “influencer” was exempt to the no-phone policy by nature of her employment. She clarified on Instagram that she was there as a content creator with a media pass.
“For all you asking about me having my phone today at the masters, I came with Meta to capture content here and came as a videographer!! Excited to go [Thursday] and watch all the players and will not have my phone for that :)”
Fair enough. Arnold did what she was there to do and followed the rules she was asked to follow. She isn’t the first “influencer” to attend one of the early days at The Masters. She didn’t do anything wrong.
However, it begs the question of what should constitute “media.” It is one thing to have a local news station on hand to capture a story on a legitimate video camera. It is a very different thing to have a 20-year-old Dancing With The Stars pro film video for TikTok on her iPhone. And yet, both are allowed.