Joker Murray is a serious talent

Martin Greig, The Herald, 7 October 2006 - extract

It takes a brave man to fuse comedy and golf. Bill Murray laid down his marker with the 1980 film Caddyshack. Yesterday, at St Andrews, he sank the putt. If pricking the pomposity of the sport was made into a national pastime, then the Lost in Translation and Ghostbusters star would have to seriously consider leaving the movie business to go full-time on the Pro-Celebrity circuit.

But, firstly, if anyone has reservations over the format of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where amateur celebrities are paired with professionals, then put them to bed. Trust me, there are few finer sights than witnessing Hollywood's finest get a thorough drenching courtesy of an old-fashioned Scottish rainstorm.

Sure, watching Colin Montgomerie drain putts can be thrilling, but nowhere near as amusing as watching Michael Douglas wring out the bottom of his trouser legs after being caught in monsoon conditions halfway through his round; or watching rain-drops drip from the nose of Ian 'Beefy' Botham.

So what can I tell you about Bill Murray after following him around 18 holes of the Old Course?

Fact one: he's a genuinely funny bloke – not one of those film star comics who turns it on for the cameras and morphs into an ogre when the laughs are in the can.

Fact two: he likes to have fun on the course. "That [fun] is the first thing," he stresses. "Then win. In that order. There's a lot of people [spectators] just standing around waiting to have a good time. I admire anybody with the spirit to stand around watching sport on a day like this."

For the record, in the States he once threw a female spectator into a bunker. As a joke, naturally. .......