Caddyshack star Bill Murray has fun with Spieth, crowd at Colonial Pro-Am
Carl Spackler was out on the golf course, but this time, he wasn’t trying to blow up gophers.
Bill Murray, who played the famous grounds keeper in the 1980 movie Caddyshack, joined 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, the No. 2 player in the world, at the Colonial Country Club to take part in the 2016 Colonial Pro-Am on Wednesday.
Joining them would be Kuhn Ying, Jay Danzi and Colonial tournament chairman and director Bobby Patton.
Murray drew a lot of laughs as only the longtime comedian would.
On the opening tee, Murray teed off third behind Spieth and Patton. Just as Spieth was setting up for his shot, Murray shouted to the crowd, "this guy is a local, let’s let him know you’re supporting him," to which Spieth smiled.
Murray’s first shot on the par-5 went 250 yards, flipping the driver like Jose Bautista, and landed on the right of the fairway. His next two shots weren’t as good with the third landing in the sand trap.
After getting out of the sand trap and onto the green, Murray would miss the par attempt.
On the second hole, Murray blurted out "Who moved the ball?" after his drive went into the rough.
In what was perhaps his best shot of the day, Murray drained a 20-foot putt attempt on No. 16 to a loud roar from the crowd. As if he was at a concert, Murray dropped the “mic” or in this case, his putter, took off both gloves and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He slowly walked over and hi-fived a security guard and took a seat just off the green.
“He was a shot maker, carving it left and right, hitting it high and low and he showed up for the big moments,” Spieth said. “He knew when the crowd was there, he knew when to pull off the shots and pick up his game. He’s a performer, he knows what he’s doing.”
Things didn’t start off right with the tee shot on 16, as Murray’s ball hit a few trees and a wall before going fishing. After taking a drop just outside the water, Murray’s chip shot landed softly on the green, setting him up for his thrilling putt.
On the final hole, Ying, the CEO for Dean & Deluca, found trouble with his second shot, finding among other things, the bottom of a trash bag just off the fairway. Murray would miss his final putt attempt before talking with the media and signing merchandise for the fans.
“It’s a beautiful course, I love this course and it’s a wonderful crowd,” Murray said.
“We had a great time and it was really nice for Bill to come here,” Spieth said. “Us north Texans are big fans and I think he heard that today from the crowd.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Caddyshack star Bill Murray has fun with Spieth, crowd at Colonial Pro-Am."