Will Zalatoris won the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday for the first PGA Tour win of his young career.
Zalatoris beat Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff to open up the FedExCup Playoffs.
The 25-year-old resembles the first caddie Adam Sandler’s character had in the movie “Happy Gilmore.”
In the movie, Sandler played the role of Happy Gilmore. Gilmore was a wanna-be professional hockey player who joined a golf tour to try and win enough money to help his grandmother keep her home. He did so with a powerful golf swing and unconventional behavior on the course.
Sandler tweeted a congratulatory message for Zalatoris on Sunday that included four photos. Two showed Zalatoris celebrating his win and Gilmore celebrating his victory at a local tournament that earned him a spot on the professional golf tour. The other two pictures showed both golfers holding their respective trophies.
“Congrats Will! I’m happy for you!” Sandler wrote. “Happy’s happy for you! Enjoy it all!”
Congrats Will! I’m happy for you! Happy’s happy for you! Enjoy it all! pic.twitter.com/mlfRY2oYmr
— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) August 15, 2022
Zalatoris had come close to his first Tour win multiple times this season. He had eight top-10 finishes, including a tie for sixth place at the Masters, a tie for second at the U.S Open, and a loss in a PGA Championship playoff. He shot 4-under par on Sunday, and 15-under par overall during the tournament.
Gilmore also managed to win the Tour Championship in the movie with a different caddie, and Zalatoris broke his Tour winless streak in a somewhat similar fashion. Zalatoris fired his long-time caddie during the second round of the Wyndham Championship in early August.
