“Happy Gilmore 2” might be a glimpse into the future of professional golf.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf have agreed to unify, but more than two years after shaking hands, discussions between the two leagues have stalled.
However, in Adam Sandler’s long-awaited sequel, a major storyline bears resemblance to the friction that has plagued the professional golf world over the past few years. The fictitious Maxi Golf Tour is a rival circuit aiming to make “regular golf” defunct with monster drives and mini-golf-style holes. In many ways, it feels like a nod to LIV.
Yet, in the film, PGA Tour stars Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy—along with LIV stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka—are all rallying to save the regular tour.
“We just wanted to make some sort of reason that they’re all together,” Sandler told Front Office Sports of the PGA Tour and LIV divide. “They’re all on the same team, all pulling for the same thing.”
How was Sandler able to get everyone to participate?
He reached out to Chad Mumm, cofounder and president of Pro Shop Holdings and the executive producer of Netflix’s Full Swing, who has a direct relationship with many of the world’s top golfers.
“This was not like one or two cameos—this is like 27,” Mumm told FOS, recalling when he first read the script.
The players were more than cameos, though. They were an integral part of the movie. Therefore, it took some “cajoling,” Mumm said, to get them to participate.
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t get in the way of their lives,” Sandler said. “We just tried to write stuff that we thought they’d have a good time doing.”
It appears they did. And being together again—albeit on-screen—fighting for a common cause might be a signal that the rift in pro golf is mended, and they all just want to regularly play against each other again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Adam Sandler Got PGA Tour and LIV Golf Stars Together for 'Happy Gilmore 2'.