Bill Murray has been a mainstay at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for decades, and it seems like there’s an unlimited supply of humorous stories and anecdotes about the comedian’s eccentricities that are on display during the PGA Tour’s annual event.
World Series champ and three-time MLB All-Star Mark Grace is no exception. Grace, a 7-handicap, credits Murray for getting him into the Pro-Am field years ago, and on this week’s episode of Subpar, Grace told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz what it’s like to play alongside the Caddyshack icon.
“When you’re with Bill for a week, you’re invited to all the big-shot parties, your galleries are bigger than Tiger’s were,” Grace said. “Nicklaus was even playing back in the early ’90s in that tournament.
“Now mind you, Bill’s galleries were huge, but Bill’s a funny guy,” Grace continued. “So everybody — you’ve got a three-footer that’s important — and right when you’re takin’ your last look at it: ‘Hey, Bill! Gunga lagunga!’ People are always screaming out at Bill. And Bill’s one of those guys, he doesn’t have to even say anything and people will laugh, especially up there at Pebble Beach.”
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Thanks to Murray’s comedic clout, Grace said he was free to shout back at the tournament patrons.
“He abuses people up there, just lets ’em have it with his wit and his humor and how quick he is,” Grace said. “‘Hey Bill! How about an autograph for an old lady?’ And he’ll go over there, and he’ll look down and go, ‘My God, you are old, aren’t you? How old are you, a million?!’ And everybody just loves him. They don’t take offense to it.”
For more from Grace, including a Michael Jordan story and what it was like to play Augusta National for the first time, check out the full interview below.