It wasn't the Masters green jacket Carl Spackler was hoping for, but on Sunday, Bill Murray made his "Caddyshack" character proud. After years of playing in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- one of two tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule that allows amateur golfers (read: celebrities and millionaires) to rub elbows with the pros for four rounds of tournament golf -- Murray finally had his own "Cinderella story," winning the amateur portion of the tournament for the first time in his career.
In an effort to channel his inner Spackler, Murray showed up for Sunday's round in a flannel shirt and bucket cap, which happened to be almost the exact same outfit he sported during the movie. The only thing he was missing were the signature rain boots. The look definitely did the trick if he was looking for a some extra "mojo."
While D.A. Points became a first-time winner on the PGA Tour on Sunday, it was Murray who stole the show once again, catering to the crowd and enjoying every moment of the victory. If you've ever seen Murray play golf before, then you know he's not the type of guy who beats himself up over bad shots.
If anything, he's unlike most golfers, in the sense that he actually likes to have fun on the course. What a novel idea! For a sport that's perceived by most outsiders to be stuffy with very little personality, Murray is the exception. He wears clothes you probably have hanging in your closet, and he laughs at himself when he hits a bad shot.
It's a far cry from the images we see on SportsCenter of Tiger Woods chucking his clubs and dropping f-bombs after a wayward drive. As crazy as it sounds, his relaxed, fun-loving personality probably had a lot to do with D.A. Points winning this week.
Like most pros on tour, Points admitted early in the week that he was a "Caddyshack" junkie. He could recite the movie by heart, and knew all of the best lines. For him, playing with Murray was a dream come true. The opportunity to play with his idol also allowed him to stay loose during the tournament.
"I was expecting him to be more of a distraction than he was," Points said. "He taught me to go ahead and have a little more fun and in turn, it distracted me from trying so hard. It kept me loose."
Maybe that's the secret to the game: to just go out there and have fun. Sure, it's difficult to do that when you have a cool million on the line, but who knows, maybe if golfers decided to channel their inner Bill Murray on occasion, the sport's reputation would improve.
It definitely helped D.A. Points win the biggest paycheck of his career and get a free pass into the Masters. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
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