The Hawk Ending Explained: Will Ferrell Talks About Lonnie's Final Shot - Netflix Tudum

  • Explainer

    The Hawk Ending: Will Ferrell Has Some Thoughts on Lonnie’s Final Shot

    The creator and star of the new comedy series breaks down Lonnie Hawkins’s big comeback.

    By John DiLillo
    July 16, 2026
This article contains major character or plot details.

When Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins steps up to make his final stroke in the finale of The Hawk, he’s bringing along a lot of baggage. 

Lonnie (played by series creator Will Ferrell) has been through the wringer over the course of this PGA Tour. He’s lost his loyal caddy (Keith David), found a new caddy (Fortune Feimster), lost that caddy, started a feud with his son (Jimmy Tatro), played with his hand caught in a pickle jar, reignited a romance with his estranged wife (Molly Shannon), and torn up the golf course on his way to the Grand Slam he failed to achieve 20 years prior. 

Two men, one in a navy golf outfit and the other in a sleeveless patterned shirt and plaid pants, stand on a golf course talking during a sunny day, with spectators and a tournament sign visible in the background.

Everything comes down to this putt. Oh, and if he defeats his son Lance, the young man’s gambling debtors might just kill him. No pressure.

Well, maybe a little pressure. Lonnie misses the final putt, just like he did last time. He tells his son he missed on purpose, to save his life. Lance is triumphant — and he reveals that there were never any bloodthirsty debtors. It was all a mind game, a sneaky tactic he picked up from his father. 

Thanks to his caddy Sam’s javelin-catching skills, Lonnie survives a haphazard assassination attempt from his nemesis Anton (Chris Parnell). And with that, the US Open is over. 

Two men stand face to face surrounded by dramatic stage smoke and spotlight, one in business attire and the other in casual sportswear, suggesting a tense or competitive scene in a dark theatrical setting.

All’s well that ends well: Lonnie gets asked to be a captain in the Ryder Cup next year, gets medical help for his gangrenous pickle-jar hand, and sets off on a cross-country road trip with Lance. He’s proud of his son, but the final moments of the series raise a crucial question. As Sam puts it, “You did the right thing, missing that putt. You did miss it on purpose, right?”

Lonnie doesn’t answer. Instead, he offers her a pickle. 

Man in white golf shirt and black cap holding a golf club after a swing on a golf course, with spectators and trees in the background on a cloudy day.

But Ferrell has his own answer. “I think he had every intention to [miss it], and then he really was trying to make it,” he tells Tudum. “That’s why I wanted to add that line, ‘I missed on purpose,’ to cover his shame of actually missing it for a second time.”

That’s breaking news for Ferrell’s co-star Shannon. “You can interpret it,” she adds, “because I didn’t know that!”

Ferrell agrees. “That’s what’s fun about it,” he says. “We also love it if there’s a debate for the viewer.”

The Hawk is now streaming on Netflix.

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All About The Hawk

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  • Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins returns to the sport that made him infamous.
  • The golf comedy series is now streaming.
  • The legendary golf pro is hitting the road to promote his new Netflix series.

Shop The Hawk

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