Happy Gilmore walked off the movie set and on to Augusta to win the 2012 Masters.
Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson jun shares many of the eccentric traits of Happy Gilmore (minus the short temper) and is a welcome breath of fresh air to a sport suffocating in its own traditions.
Now that Tiger Woods has teetered off golf's pedestal, other golfers are allowed to have their day in the sun and one of the more colourful characters has been Bubba. With a name like Bubba (apparently named after Bubba Smith a former NFL player and actor), this long-haired self-taught golfer with a pink driver was destined to be different.
In New Zealand we tend to use the term "bubba" to refer to babies and this may be an appropriate label for the latest Masters winner after he "blubbered" all over his Mum during victory celebrations.
It is this open expression of emotion, however, that makes him likeable and that has thousands of fans following him on facebook, twitter and you tube.
Bubba is not only a Master at Augusta but also the master of social networking and reportedly takes time out of his busy day to respond to posts or tweets.
Not many golfers would be that dedicated to their legions of fans while managing to stay at the top of their game.
When this 33-year-old left-handed golfer isn't coaching himself to whack the ball over 300 yards and bend the ball to his will, he posts bizarre internet home videos on the net.
For instance, Bubba and three of his fellow PGA Tour players formed a boy band called "Golf Boys" and recorded the song Oh, oh, oh to help raise money for charity.
In nothing but a pair of overalls, Watson looked more like the mumbling, grass-chewing character from Happy Gilmore than the soon to be green-blazered Master of Augusta.
It is this contrast of control and craziness that makes him appealing. He looks to be the kind of guy everyone would love.
Who wouldn't want to go for a spin in the General Lee car he purchased from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series?
Despite the unconventional car and capers, he also is a man with a conscience. Every hit on YouTube and every hit over 300 yards with his pink driver helps to raise funds for charity and unlike many of the golfers surveyed in 2011 for their opinions on "all things Augusta" Bubba was very open and forthright when asked if it bothered him that Augusta's club membership excludes women.
He replied "yeah, I care, and you can quote me on it".
A man of few words on this occasion, but a brave soul nonetheless to speak publicly about the elephant in the room that other male golfers tend to ignore.
We can only speculate on what motivates this man on his mission. Is it his status as a "born-again" Christian (quite appropriate really considering Easter has just passed) or is he really desperate for adoration and fame?
He claims he isn't after fame, but he has it in bulk as a result of his social networking antics and his ability to trump Oosthuizen's double-eagle shot with a hook shot that saw him emerge from obscurity and into the light, literally and figuratively on the 10th hole.
As a sport, golf is keen to embrace its new hero, one who (for now at least) seems focused on family and flamboyancy in a way that will attract the younger generation into the fuddy duddy fold.
Sponsors on the other hand may be put off by his eccentricity.
In a world where being different makes you stand out in an over-saturated marketplace, I doubt he'll have problems.
Corporations may have learnt their lessons in terms of looks being deceiving with Tiger Woods. Surely they'll be lining up to sponsor born-again Bubba and his boy band?
Will the vultures that come with fame and fortune over-coach and sanitise Bubba like the golfing fraternity tried to with Gilmore?
In one scene in the film, pro-golfer Gary Potter suggested Gilmore "harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness.
"Energy. Block. Bad. It's like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow." To which Gilmore replied "Psycho".
I'm pretty sure Wacky Watson will ride this golfing carousel according to his own beat, like he always has.
