In a 2021 CNN interview, McDonald presented his vision for “Happy Gilmore 2”, which would include Shooter and Happy both being selected to play for the U.S. Ryder Cup team (a biennial team competition that pits United States golfers against their European counterparts). . According to McDonald, it would go something like this:
“We’re all good golfers and the captain picks Gilmore. ‘Are you out of your mind? He’s a disgrace to the game!’ Then of course Gilmore… he hits the final putt that keeps the cup in America. It goes like this. The middle part, I don’t know yet. But my God, Shooter would have gone crazy if Gilmore had been chosen. Shooter is a serious golfer, and Gilmore says, ‘I’m just saving my grandmother’s house.’ ‘”
The only problem with this is that Happy and Shooter have gotten along well over the years. McDonald is 68 years old and Sandler is 57, so their characters would be poor choices to represent the United States at the Ryder Cup. The obvious remedy is to base the hypothetical sequel on the PGA’s Senior Tour, an approach Sandler approves of. As he told Variety in 2022:
“Wouldn’t it be fun to go on Happy Gilmore’s senior tour and hang out with all these guys and try to write a great script about Happy being an old man and having to cool his temper and stuff like that? But, I don’t know. Maybe one day, I’ll get to that.” Something similar.”
Either version would work for me, but Sandler’s idea would make it easier to bring back some key old cast members.