Collin Morikawa Talks Authenticity, Finding the Flow and 'Happy Gilmore 2'
When you think of golf, it's easy to imagine a stuffy sport complete with collared shirts and all sorts of etiquette. At the Masters, for example, the spectators aren't fans; they're patrons, and they cannot run or use cellphones.
Happy Gilmore, a 1996 Adam Sandler movie about a hockey player turned golfer, shattered those norms. Rather than polite applause and hushed tones, we saw long drives, loud celebrations and a famous brawl with Bob Barker. It's a piece of pop culture that launched a thousand metaphorical ships. Who among us hasn't tried Gilmore's running drive at least once?
And, nearly 30 years later, Sandler is back on the course with the likes of Travis Kelce, Bad Bunny and plenty of pro golfers along for the ride.
One of those is Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner (the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship), who not only appears in the film but an accompanying U.S. Bank commercial.
Collin Morikawa of the United States plays an approach shot on the first hole during day one of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 17, 2025, in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
Collin Morikawa of the United States plays an approach shot on the first hole during day one of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 17, 2025, in Portrush, Northern Ireland.As someone who has spent countless hours on the links, the franchise held a certain allure for Morikawa.
"If you're a professional golfer and you don't remember every part of Happy Gilmore, I think something's wrong," he told Newsweek. "It's truly an iconic movie. It's something that, even when we're goofing around, you're able to pull out quotes. You're able to pull out scenes from the movie that we're able to incorporate just in our fun time, just when we're screwing around. It's absolutely been a part of my life, and what a special moment to be in Happy Gilmore 2."
That resonance with the golf community also helped logistically—"It's fun when you have the team behind the golfer also rooting for you," producer and Happy Madison Productions co-founder Jack Giarraputo told Newsweek—but what about the personal side of things?
Morikawa, for example, is fiercely competitive. When you fuse that with golf's more conservative nature, cracking jokes and riding a club like a bull (a signature Gilmore celebration) don't always seem natural.
What do golf, Netflix and U.S. Bank have in common? Happy Gilmore 2! Premiering on Netflix July 25. #happygilmore2 https://t.co/pcdPNGqH3u pic.twitter.com/FIuRDispbQ — U.S. Bank (@usbank) July 16, 2025
But, at the same time, pro golfers are human beings, too. And when you get a good group together without the pressures of your day job, that's can certainly get the ball rolling.
"It came into a time for us that we were able to be a little more free," Morikawa added. "It wasn't in the middle of our season; it was kind of where a lot of us felt a little more relaxed. We were able to come out here, hang out with these guys, have a lot of fun, have some drinks maybe. And just enjoy life. I think that's part of it. We stress ourselves out so much about what we're trying to do professionally that when we're able to kind of step outside our comfort zone, and then be in something so special like this, we've made memories and friends for life."
But, at the same time, there are some parallels to golf. Morikawa was able to get into the right mental space and move forward from there.
"I think it's finding the right zone," he said. "I think so much of my life is very structured in a way. That's just who I am. But all these guys are so good at what they do because when they're in this zone, what they are so passionate about, everything's just free flowing. Whether it's comedy or whether it's golf, you're able to kind of bridge that gap."
If you believe those around him, Morikawa was able to bridge that gap without an issue.
"The good thing about a sports guy like Collin [is that] he's an entertainer really, but in a different realm" Frank Coraci, director of the "Happy As Usual" campaign and some of Sandler's previous films, like The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer, told Newsweek. "Sports guys tend to be a little bit stiffer some of the time; not all of them, but a lot of them. He showed up, he had already been on the set of Happy Gilmore, so he kind of got how it worked, he watched how the rhythm of comedy works. So, I think I got lucky to get him when he was already understanding how it worked. But I was pleasantly surprised at how funny and how relaxed he was....Take after take, we kept trying different things and he just blew me away."
"Collin was in, and I consider him the ringleader for, one of the craziest scenes in Happy Gilmore 2," Giarraputo added.
From left: Pro golfer Collin Morikawa, Michael Lacorazza (U.S. Bank CMO), Jack Giarraputo (producer, Happy Gilmore 2) and Frank Coraci (director) at New Jersey's Montclair Golf Club on July 22, 2025.
From left: Pro golfer Collin Morikawa, Michael Lacorazza (U.S. Bank CMO), Jack Giarraputo (producer, Happy Gilmore 2) and Frank Coraci (director) at New Jersey's Montclair Golf Club on July 22, 2025.
Courtesy of U.S. Bank
And while getting involved in outlandish antics may not be standard golfer behavior—that's the entire conceit that underpins Happy Gilmore—Morikawa was able to find his sweet spot and simply be in the moment. Whether you're talking about sports, comedy or life, that's where the best results often lie.
"When you try and compartmentalize too much, that's when you seem a little too structured, and you don't get the true, authentic side of yourself," Morikawa said. "You want to be able to be with these guys. I think being in the film, being in Happy Gilmore 2, you kind of see it as not authentic. So, you have to just truly go into these scenarios where maybe you're not comfortable and just because you're not comfortable doesn't mean you can't be yourself. You have to go into it and say, 'This is something new, but let's enjoy it. Be present, make a memory out of it,' and I've made a lot of memories from this."
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