RORY McILROY has been preparing for the Ryder Cup in happy-go-lucky style – by embracing his inner Happy Gilmore.
McIlroy is a huge fan of the slapstick golf movie, which is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of its release.
And after sending a tongue-in-cheek message of congratulations to Adam Sandler, the hit film’s star and co-writer, the pair have agreed to meet up on a golf course, and compare their run and hit techniques.
In the film, Sandler plays a hockey player who turns to golf while serving a ban, and finds he can smash the ball 400 yards with his unique method.
Using ‘Calamity Jane’ putter, Sandler survives a series of misadventures to win the Tour Championship, and claim the coveted Gold Jacket.
McIlroy was only seven when Happy Gilmore was released but says he has watched it countless times over the years, and was determined to mark its special anniversary.
The 2016 and 2019 Tour Championship winner used his Twitter account to pay tribute to his ‘fellow champion’.
He said: “Hey Adam, It’s Rory here, fellow Tour Championship winner. I just want to say sorry you can’t be here this week. We all wish you were.
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“I’ve got a gold jacket and a replica Calamity Jane putter to commemorate your win at the Tour Championship.
“I just want to say thanks for all the laughs you’ve given us over the years. Happy Gilmore’ is one of my favourite movies.
“You’re awesome. I’d love to meet you one day. Hopefully, we can catch up soon.”
The camera then zooms in on Happy Gilmore’s honorary clubhouse locker at the Tour Championship venue, East Lake in Atlanta.
Sandler clearly appreciated the gesture. He immediately replied with a twitter message of his own, saying: “Love you Rory. Thanks for the kind words. Look forward to playing with you all real soon.”
It was not McIlroy’s first public display of affection for the mythical golf hero.
When his club sponsors, TaylorMade, brought six of its biggest stars together to try their hand at hitting drivers after a big run-up the four-time Major champion took it far more seriously than the rest.
They all donned hockey style tops in homage to Sandler’s character, but only Rory hauled his sleeves up and turned aported a back to front baseball cap, in true Happy Gilmore style.
He even delivered a telling off to his fellow golfers – including Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson – saying: “This is how Happy does it!”.
But his devotion to the cause did not pay off. While most of his rivals were hitting slices and duck hooks, McIlroy went one ‘better’ by chanking the ball into the measuring device by the side of the tee.
The best shot came from Tiger, who nonchalantly blasted the ball straight down the middle of the driving range, notching up a 254 yards carry.
“Is anybody surprised?” asked McIlroy.
McIlroy also gave a decent Happy Gilmore impression on his last Ryder Cup appearance in America.
He certainly matched the fictional hero’s over the top celebrations during his epic singles clash with Patrick Reed – especially after he holed a monster putt to halve the eight hole.
But McIlroy ended up losing that match as Europe were routed 17-11 at Hazeltine, and he said that had taught him a valuable lesson about the need to channel his energy more efficiently.
He explained; “I think the most animated I’ve been in my career has been at Ryder Cups. It just brings something out of you that you don’t get playing individually.
“There’s something more there when you’re playing as part of a team, and everything you do doesn’t just affect yourself but affects the other eleven players, the captain, the vice captains, all the support team.
“There’s a lot of emotion that comes out, but you still have to try to control that, as well.
“So I will certainly try to not be as animated this week, and try to conserve some energy. It’s a long week.
“Whether I play all five matches again, we’ll see. But it’s a lot of golf. It’s a lot of energy just playing, then trying to beat who you’re playing against. If you try to beat the crowd, as well, it seems like a bit of an impossible task.
“I will try my best for this team and I’ll try to play the best golf I possibly can, but I sort of learned quite a few things from 2016 about conserving energy.
“I felt like I sort of hit a wall on the back nine against Patrick that day, and I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”
Happy Gilmore may not have approved of a player trying to keep a lid on things – but European captain Padraig Harrington definitely will.
