The Loop

Bill Murray: They disregarded his heroism

February 13, 2010

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIF. -- As if in a hurry to become the punch line of their own joke, at the conclusion of his round the PGA Tour slapped a two-shot penalty on Bill Murray for being late to the first tee. Murray, who limped along for three days with a knee injury that he said happened, "in a heroic rescue, pulling children from a burning bus," was chatting up CBS commentators Gary McCord and David Feherty and didn't actually arrive on the tee until his professional partners, Tim Herron and Rocco Mediate, played away. It should be pointed out that the last time Mediate played with someone who walked that badly, he nearly won the U.S. Open.

"I was on time to hit my ball," said Murray of the penalty. "I didn't slow play. They said there was an interpretation that showed it to be the case. Here it is: the player will play at the time assigned by the committee. That's the rule of golf. It's principle. It is principle and it's nerdy stuff."

Murray and his partner, Herron, finished so far out of the running in the team competition that in the wide range of remedies to address potential breaches of either etiquette or the rules of golf, one might have thought drug testing to be more appropriate. Alas, two shots was the best they could do.

"It's just torn," Murray said as he limped away. "You guys are medical guys. The insurance company is going to ask a lot of questions. It's not that I want to make a lot of money. It's just that I feel lucky."

-- John Strege