Happy Gilmore actor crashes Justin Thomas' news conference at WM Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Thomas visited the media center underneath the clubhouse Wednesday after playing in the Annexus Pro-Am. He had just finished nine holes in a star-studded group that included Olympic great Michael Phelps, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly and popular golf influencer Grant Horvat.

He was engaged in his pre-tournament Q&A ahead of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open when another famous face crashed the proceedings: actor Christopher McDonald, perhaps best known as Shooter McGavin in the hit golf movie Happy Gilmore.

It was McDonald who leaked the news of the sequel, Happy Gilmore 2, and his surprise appearance at TPC Scottsdale was, of course, to promote the film.

As Thomas was taking some questions, the moderator asked: "We've heard that you've tried some acting this past year in Happy Gilmore II. Can you tell us about that?"

And just then, McDonald intervened.

"Hold on. I've seen this guy act, seen JT act. His game is good. His golf game is good. His acting is good. Just not as good as the Shooter. Just sayin'," quipped McDonald.

"Not many are, right?" said Thomas.

"No, that's true," McDonald said.

"Obviously, we've been joined by Chris McDonald who's going to be returning as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore 2, out this summer. Shooter or Chris, I know golf fans around the world are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Happy Gilmore 2. What can fans expect from this second chapter?" he was asked.

"Good question. I can't really talk too much about it because it's under wraps, but it's going to be awesome. So much fun to shoot with new faces. Travis Kelce was in it. But that said, it's got the quintessential Adam Sandler touch. He's back. Of course, Julie Bowen is back. Yours truly, Chris McDonald, and a lot of new faces.

"But it's got so much heart and so much humor that it's going to, I think new generations are going to eat it up because it's a rare and beautiful thing, and Netflix went above and beyond at making it the best. It's going to be very surprisingly funny."

Thomas then admitted he's a huge fan of the film.

"Obsessed with Happy Gilmore," he said. "It was so cool to be around everybody and be around Chris and just all of it. I mean, that movie, that generation of movies is literally what we grew up on, and I realized how many Adam Sandler quotes I use in my daily life when I'm around him because I obviously felt uncomfortable saying them around him, and that's when I realized that he's a part of my childhood and growing up more than I realized. It was a very cool experience."

Chad Mumm, executive producer of the documentary series Full Swing on Netflix, is a co-producer on Happy Gilmore 2. He admitted he was in on the surprise visit and talked about a major difference between the two projects.

"What was fun about it, is, normally, making Full Swing, it's kind of like, I'm invading their turf," he said, "and them coming out to the movie set, it was kinda like 'You're on our turf now'. But they had a blast. We had so many professional golfers and legends of the game come out to be in the movie and I think people will be really surprised by how much they're in it."

A news release sent Wednesday confirmed the Happy Gilmore 2 cast: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, Travis Kelce, Conor Sherry, Ethan Cutkosky, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Fine Schneider and more.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Happy Gilmore actor Shooter McGavin joins Justin Thomas at Phoenix Open