Adam Sandler tells real-life Happy Gilmore to ‘go get em’ after young golfer commits to college
Bloomington South's Happy Gilmore putts on the 1st green at Country Oaks Golf Course during the IHSAA regional golf meet on June 8.
By Jack Bantock, CNN
(CNN) — Happy Gilmore is heading to college. But nope, there’s no prequel film on the way – this is for real.
Born Landon Gilmore, a 17-year-old Indiana golfer has effectively gone by the name “Happy” since, just over a decade ago, he won a long-drive competition – like his namesake in the titular 1996 comedy film.
On Friday, the Bloomington High School senior announced on Twitter that he had committed to Indiana’s Ball State University, continuing his pursuit of a career in the professional game.
And that caught the attention of the original Happy Gilmore, Adam Sandler.
“Go get em Happy. Pulling for you,” the actor, who has played at various Pro-Am events, tweeted in response to Gilmore’s post.
In February, Gilmore told CNN it would be a dream to one day meet Sandler. Unsurprisingly then, Sandler’s message was well received by the teen, who replied: “My life is complete.”
“When I saw that Adam Sandler retweeted my tweet, my little heart kind of fell apart there,” Gilmore told Golf Channel.
“I was speechless and didn’t really know what to do with myself for a minute.”
Amid a wave of engagement sparked by Sandler’s response, the PGA Tour University – a program that aims to give top college players a route into its developmental tours – tweeted that it was “monitoring the situation.”
Though Sandler’s tweet rocketed Gilmore to viral fame on Friday, the youngster is a well-known name on the Indiana junior golf circuit.
National Hurricane Player of the Year in 2020, he has collected a flurry of accolades during his time at Bloomington High, making the Indiana All-State team in back-to-back seasons.
He attempted to qualify for the US Open for the second year in a row in April, entering a local qualifying event at Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Indianapolis.
Unfortunately for Gilmore, he again fell short on “golf’s longest day”, shooting 16-over par and, after posting a picture of his scorecard, subsequently joking that he had applied for a job at the snack bar.
Playing under coach Mike Fleck with the Ball State Cardinals, Gilmore is hoping to take his game to the next level.
“I just want to play good golf and see what happens,” he said to Golf Channel.
“I’m sure once I get there my goals will change. I’m so competitive, I want to get there and play, and hopefully help the team get to nationals.”
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