HOUSTON – Real estate is one of Shooter McGavin’s hobbies. So is golf.
That’s why it wasn’t a surprise to see Shooter at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open on Thursday. And yes, we’re talking about that Shooter McGavin, the one from “Happy Gilmore.”
Actor Christopher McDonald, who portrays Shooter McGavin, was on hand Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course during the first round of the Houston Open. McDonald signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. He even got pranked by Tony Finau on the first tee, as Finau mimicked as if he was going to do the Happy Gilmore swing.
Had Finau gone through with it, Shooter may have tried to get him kicked off the Tour.
“(Tony) just killed the ball when I was out there,” McDonald told Golfweek. “He’s a big favorite of mine, a great guy.”
Haven't seen power like that since the '96 TOUR Championship 💪 pic.twitter.com/ydS8VNJxNG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 10, 2022
No matter where McDonald goes, Shooter McGavin’s persona follows him. He has become the friendly villain in the golf community since the movie debuted in 1996, and portraying the Shooter role is something that changed McDonald’s life.
“I love being an ambassador for this movie because it has been 26 years, and so it’s multi-generational,” McDonald said. “And I had people tell me when they watch it, they watch it with their grandkids, and whenever it pops up on television, they just kind of have to sit down and watch and have a good laugh. It’s the gift that keeps on giving for me because I get invited to places like the Houston Open.”
The first 5,000 fans at Thursday’s first round got a Shooter McGavin bobble head, and many of those bobble heads ended up signed by Shooter himself. And no one had to go to the ninth green at 9 o’clock to make it happen.
Although Shooter’s last Tour Championship appearance was in 1996 when he blew a big lead to Happy Gilmore, he remains a big fan of golf. McDonald said he has become an even bigger fan in the past 10 years, and it’s in big part to how much it has grown on television. That is, as long as TV towers aren’t collapsing on the green.
McDonald and Adam Sandler, who played Happy Gilmore, remain in touch, even seeing each other a couple weeks before the Houston Open. On the 25th anniversary of the movie last year, Sandler posted a video on Twitter of him recreating the swing.
Shortly after, McDonald’s publicist contacted McDonald and told him about Sandler’s video. He responded quickly.
On Thursday, the impact and fandom McDonald has sprouted in golf fans over the past quarter century were apparent. Those young and old were lined up to meet him, many times saying catch phrases from the movie when they finally got to meet him.
It remains apparent that even after all these years. It’s still Shooter’s tour.
“I have nothing but respect for his great game of golf, and these guys are phenomenally talented,” McDonald said. “So it’s a treat for me to be right up close and personal.”
