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Happy Gilmore commits to Ball State
Bloomington South's Happy Gilmore putts on the 1st green at Country Oaks Golf Course during the IHSAA regional golf meet Garet Cobb/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Happy Gilmore commits to Ball State

Sometimes life really does imitate art.

On Friday, high school senior Landon "Happy" Gilmore (no relation to the Adam Sandler character of the same name) committed to Ball State where he'll continue his golf career.

Sandler congratulated Gilmore upon hearing about his decision.

The real-life Gilmore was surprised when he read it.

"When I saw that Adam Sandler retweeted my tweet, my little heart kind of fell apart there. I was speechless and didn't know what to do with myself for a minute," Gilmore told GolfChannel.com

"Happy Gilmore" was released in 1996 and featured Sandler as the title character, a hockey player who turns to golf to raise money for his grandmother, and gets in a fight with an alligator and former "The Price Is Right" host Bob Barker along the way.

Hopefully, the real Gilmore has better control of his anger. If not, Drew Carey might want to watch his back.

Per Golf Channel, Gilmore started going by "Happy" when he was 9, "after winning a long-drive contest at the Pepsi Little People's Tournament."

The site notes Gilmore was named the 2020 Hurricane Junior Tour player of the year and was the runner-up at Indiana State Junior in 2022. There, he did his best "Happy Gilmore" impersonation by struggling with his putter, missing a 2-foot putt attempt on his final hole. Where's Chubbs when you need him?

Gilmore will attract a lot of eyes because of his name, something that's a bit of a double-edged sword. "No matter where I play, someone will see my scorecard," Gilmore told Golf Channel. "So, when I shot an 88 at that [U.S. Open] qualifier... I was really hoping no one would see that. That kind of blew up a little bit," he said.

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