Who does John Daly play in Happy Gilmore 2? Pro golfer’s role in the Netflix comedy explained

Happy Gilmore 2 was released on Netflix on July 25, 2025, and received mostly positive reviews, holding a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film serves as a sequel to the original 1996 title. Adam Sandler reprises his role and has written the script with Tim Herlihy. Here is its official synopsis, as mentioned in Letterboxd:

Happy Gilmore isn’t done with golf — not by a long shot. Since his retirement after his first Tour Championship win, Gilmore returns to finance his daughter’s ballet classes.

Golfer John Daly has an interesting role in the film.

John Daly's role in Happy Gilmore 2

Expand Tweet

Happy Gilmore 2 features a plethora of celebrity cameos from golfers, actors, singers, etc. One of them is professional golfer John Patrick Daly, who plays a fictionalized version of himself. The character is Happy Gilmore's brother and lives in his garage due to his strained financial situation.

Unlike Happy, who is lively and outgoing, Daly's character is more of a recluse who doesn't like to socialize much. He eventually helps Happy get back to playing golf.

Daly spoke about doing the film on the Like a Farmer podcast. He said,

“I’m kind of Happy’s brother. Hopefully, it’s coming out July 25th. I haven’t heard when the premiere is coming out. But I had a blast. And Adam’s been a friend of mine for a long time. We just had a blast doing it."

He further praised the film, calling it funny.

"It’s funny, funny, funny. That’s all I’m going to say. It is awesome. He’s amazing. He’s probably one of the best for-seeked actors right now. And he was more into this one. Maybe he produces a lot of his movies. I’m not for sure. I didn’t ask him. We just [got] to meet his family and see how his beautiful daughter’s grown up. It was really cool.”

Daly revealed that he was surprised when his agent told him about the role. The golfer was expecting a brief cameo but was surprised to learn that he was playing Adam Sandler's brother.

"My agent called me and says, ‘Hey, I think you’re going to be in Happy Gilmore 2.’ I go, ‘Really?’ And most of the time, it’d be like, am I going to be on the range? Maybe 10 seconds? He goes, ‘No, you’re going to be his brother. You’re going to get him back to playing golf."

Daly won at the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 Open Championship. Besides golfing, he has two music albums to his credit. He is also a businessman with interests in various ventures.

Happy Gilmore 2 is backed by Adam Sandler, Tim Herlihy, Robert Simonds, and Jack Giarraputo. The film focuses on the protagonist, who has lost his wife and is now living with his daughters. He returns to golf so that he can afford to send his daughter to a ballet school.