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Newsweek
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Collin Morikawa Talks Authenticity, Finding the Flow and 'Happy Gilmore 2'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. 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 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 — 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 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."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Don't drop it! The PGA Championship's 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy can be a beast to hoist
FILE - Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) FILE - Collin Morikawa holds the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) FILE - Collin Morikawa holds the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) FILE - Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) FILE - Collin Morikawa holds the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Collin Morikawa had no idea how heavy the Wanamaker Trophy was when he attempted to hoist it in the air following his victory at the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. The result was a near disaster. Advertisement As Morikawa grabbed the handles of the oversized silver jug and began to raise it above his head for a photo opportunity, the top of the sterling silver trophy came off and toppled to the ground, making for one of the more awkward, if not memorable, victory celebrations in golf history. 'They told me it's heavy; they didn't tell me the lid comes off,' Morikawa recalled on Wednesday prior to the start of this year's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. 'But it is way heavier than you expect. And then they tell you to lift it over your head.' Six years earlier, Rory McIlroy had a similar experience after winning his second PGA Championship at Valhalla. When then-PGA Tour president Ted Bishop approached the Northern Irishman to present him the trophy for the award ceremony, the lid rolled off and McIlroy alertly snagged it in mid-air with one hand before it hit the ground, drawing a huge roar of applause from onlookers. Advertisement The Wanamaker Trophy, which includes the engraved names of every PGA Championship winner, measures 29 1/2 inches high, 27 inches from handle to handle and weighs 27 pounds, making for a somewhat awkward hoist — particularly after playing 18 holes. McIlroy called the trophy 'pretty meaty.' 'It's nice for the pictures because your biceps are usually flexed," McIlroy said Wednesday with a laugh as he extended his arms while pretending to hold up an imaginary trophy. 'So it makes you look a bit stronger than you actually are. But it's very cool.' Rich Beem didn't really notice how heavy the trophy was after he held off Tiger Woods to win in 2002 at Hazeltine, saying there was too much adrenaline pumping through his veins. Advertisement 'It could have weighed 100 pounds," Beem said, 'and I probably could have picked it up with a pinky.' Beem said what surprised him the most was the silver trophy wasn't all that hot despite baking that afternoon in the August sun. Since Beem won nearly a quarter-century ago, an extra base has been added to the trophy after officials ran out of space to engrave the names of winners. The champion's name is traditionally added before the trophy leaves the course, with five-time winners Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen appearing on it the most. Champions are allowed to keep the Wanamaker Trophy for one year after it's awarded, providing they return it for the following year's presentation. Advertisement Sometimes that doesn't work out. In the late 1920s, Hagen was forced to admit to tournament officials that he lost the trophy, which was initially created around the time the tournament began in 1916 by Rodman Wanamaker, the son of a sportsman and heir to a department store empire and credited with helping create the Professional Golf Association of America. Details on how Hagen misplaced it remain sketchy and have become part of golf lore. He reportedly told the PGA of America that he left it in taxi while out celebrating one of his four straight titles from 1924-27. It resurfaced some years later, and now resides at the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas. What is used now is the replacement that was created shortly after Hagen misplaced the original. Advertisement What champions do with with the Wanamaker Trophy is up to one's own discretion. 'If you fill it up with ice and take two bottles of Jack Daniels and a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke and a dozen limes, you've got yourself one frosty cocktail,' Beem joked. 'I'm not saying that's what I did.' Once the trophy is returned the following year to be presented to the next champion, players are given a replica — albeit one that is 10% smaller — to keep for good. Transporting the Wanamaker Trophy is no easy task. Unlike the much lighter 5 1/2-pound Claret Jug — a pitcher-shaped silver trophy that comes with a travel-friendly case and is given annually to the winner of the British Open — the Wanamaker likely probably isn't something you want to lug around the country. 'It's hard to drag the Wanamaker around and say, 'Hey guys, here you go,'' Morikawa said. 'The Claret Jug is a little easier to have some fun with it.' ___ AP golf:
