Happy Gilmore has committed to play college golf at Ball State -- but this isn't the plot for a remake of the hit 1996 golf comedy movie, even though stars Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald have both gotten involved.
Bloomington South High senior Happy Gilmore announced last week that he'll join the Cardinals next year to play golf at the Division 1 level, and fans of Sandler's movie -- including the stars -- were quick to chirp in on Twitter.
Go get em Happy. Pulling for you. https://t.co/4o4LOoAWDN
— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) June 23, 2023
"Go get em Happy. Pulling for you," Sandler wrote in a tweet to the 17-year-old. To which the real-life Gilmore replied: "my life is complete."
my life is complete https://t.co/MnmyY3UD7I
— Happy Gilmore ⛳️ (@happygilmore_44) June 23, 2023
Gilmore's first name is actually Landon; he started going by "Happy" as a nickname when he was 9 after winning a long-drive contest. He told the Golf Channel that Sandler's response left him speechless.
"When I saw that Adam Sandler retweeted my tweet, my little heart kind of fell apart there," Gilmore said in a phone interview Friday with the Golf Channel. "I was speechless and didn't really know what to do with myself for a minute."
The rising senior also had an interaction with McDonald, who plays Happy's nemesis competitor, Shooter McGavin, in the film.
Hey @SUBWAY, this looks like a great opportunity for a NIL partnership. https://t.co/TzbPTQIAZr
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 23, 2023
McDonald teed up the Indiana native's news to Subway, hinting at a sponsorship similar to Sandler's sandwich-slinging character for using Gilmore's name, image and likeness.
And yes, "I can do the 'Happy Gilmore' swing," Gilmore says in his Twitter bio.
Gilmore said in another tweet, "these past couple days have been the craziest of my life," and thanked everyone for the good wishes, then made another joke from the movie: "I have to now dress up for a party @ShooterMcGavin_ is hosting for me at 9!"
The golfer recently shot a 66 at a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier and was the 2020 Hurricane Junior Tour player of the year.
"Going into the whole recruiting process, I had such an open mind and had nowhere that I was set on going," Gilmore told GolfChannel.com on Friday via phone. "After calls with Coach [Mike] Fleck, I went up and visited, and I loved the campus; it's small. Their schedule is jam-packed with good teams all year. I know a few of the guys. They have a really nice indoor practice facility. And so, it was just a perfect fit for me."
