Bill Murray's drive hits a dog, road and spectator before ending up back on the Old Course fairway
Luke Walker
It’s all about the bounce. And this might be the luckiest break ever, especially with hundreds of fans watching your every move. Of course, as is only right, comedy legend Carl Spackler … ahem, Bill Murray ... was the lucky recipient.
Although a golf fanatic, we’re betting that Murray couldn’t pull this one off again if he tried. It’s not often you drive the ball so poorly that it hits a human, a dog and a road and then grumbles back onto the No. 18 fairway as if it didn’t just nearly send multiple species to the emergency room. This is “Caddyshack” without the film set and safety precautions.
“I think we know where this is going,” the commentators note. “No one’s too worried. I can’t see anyone holding onto their heads or shoulders or hands or anything like that. Someone did that last year. Was it [Murray]? He’s blessed.
“There’s a black-and-white doggy. A little cocker spaniel, I think. This could be the definition of a dogleg. Just nudged his backside, didn’t it?”
If you slow it down, you can witness a miracle as the ball floats in the St. Andrews air, before finding the road, a poor pooch and a knee for good measure. It appears everyone’s okay, but we know that dog is going to have trust issues near golf courses going forward.
Robert MacIntyre may have won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and yet, even he didn’t pull off anything quite like this Murray fiasco and/or godsend. It goes to show you that you don’t have to be good. You just need Lady Luck on your side.
Murray and his playing partner, Jordan Smith, ultimately finished T-15 at 24 under over three rounds. Nevertheless, all that matters is that Murray escaped without a doctor being called during his round. Or a veterinarian.
