Adam Sandler shouts out Happy Gilmore lookalike at Masters

US Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris has put on an absolute clinic when it comes to owning a joke.

Zalatoris finished second in the famed Augusta tournament to Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama, who became the first Asian player to win the event in its 87-year history.

'WONDERFUL GESTURE': Sporting world moved by touching Masters moment

'THAT'S ROUGH': Matt Wolff DQ'd from Masters due to 'archaic' rule

That was despite vocal support for Zalatoris from actor and comedian Adam Sandler, who, along with thousands of golf fans on social media, compared Zalatoris to Happy Gilmore's teenage caddie in the 1996 film.

“Have fun today young man,” Gilmore wrote prior Zalatoris' final round.

“Mr. Gilmore is watching you and very proud.”

Zalatoris' blond hair bears a resemblance to Happy Gilmore's caddy in the film, who was played by child actor Jared van Snellenberg, who notably went on to become an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Stony Brook Neuroscience Institute.

Zalatoris has also been compared to other celebrities, notably Owen Wilson, but it's the comparison to Gilmore's unnamed teenage caddy that has stuck the most.

The 24-year-old has leaned into the comparison, even going so far as to engrave the iconic quote 'Mr Gilmore, I'm your caddy' on his sand wedge.

"I've been starting to get it a little bit, a lot of doppelganger, like Mr Gilmore's caddy or Owen Wilson," Xalatoris said during the Masters.

"I've been getting a lot of that lately."

Hideki Matsuyama holds off Will Zalatoris for US Masters victory

Hideki Matsuyama has donned the coveted Masters green jacket after becoming the first male player from Japan to capture one of golf's major championships.

Matsuyama made three bogeys in his final four holes but a closing one-over 73 was good enough for a one-shot victory at Augusta National.

The 29-year-old Matsuyama finished at 10-under 278 with tournament rookie Will Zalatoris second after a two-under 70.

Jordan Spieth (70) sealed his fifth top-five at Augusta with a share of third alongside Xander Schauffele (72) at seven under.

A charge from Marc Leishman never materialised with the Australian signing for a 73 to tie for fifth at six under with Jon Rahm, whose 66 was the best round of the final day.

Matsuyama's four-shot overnight buffer was slashed briefly to just one after a nervous opening-hole bogey but after a birdie on the second he took control.

Only Zalatoris and Matsuyama's playing partner Schauffele were providing anything close to a threat to a monumental victory.

Matsuyama, who first made his debut at the Masters by finishing low amateur as a teenager a decade ago, played excellent yet conservative golf around the potentially deadly Amen Corner after making the turn with a five-shot buffer.

But things got interesting when Schauffele tapped in for his third straight birdie at No.14 to close the gap to four.

Matsuyama fired his second shot at the par-5 15th over the green and into a pond on his way to a bogey while Schauffele got up and down from the greenside bunker for birdie to cut the deficit in half.

But Schauffele's hopes were sunk when his tee shot at the 16th found water and he made the first triple-bogey of his major championship career.

Matsuyama made bogey at the par-3 to be three shots clear of Zalatoris, who salvaged a par at the final hole after driving in the bunker to be in the clubhouse at nine under.

Despite a bogey on the 18th, Matsuyama claimed his first win in four years to cement superstar status in his home country.

With AAP

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.