Bill Murray finally finished his loop. The actor/comedian and his five brothers were inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame on Wednesday night.
Murray, 64, and his siblings, actors Brian, Joel and John, investment banker Ed and chef Andy, caddied at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka, Illinois, during their teens. Their experiences spurred the idea for Caddyshack, the 1980 film starring Murray as a groundskeeper, Carl Spackler, for the fictional Bushwood Country Club. Brian Doyle-Murray co-wrote the film and portrayed caddie master Lou Loomis.
All six brothers teed off Wednesday in the Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, near Winnetka. Murray donned argyle Cubs shorts. The third FedExCup playoff event commences Thursday.
“It’s an ability to look at a player when he hits a bad shot and go, 'Ehhhh….. it happens,’" Murray said of caddying. "And when he hits a good shot, you go, ‘Well, that’s really who you are.’”
Bill Murray dresses for the occasion at @BMWchamps pro-am Wednesday. @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/n2QhNZU3F5
— PGA TOUR Media (@PGATOURmedia) September 16, 2015
The Murrays join a group that includes Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Chick Evans, Old Tom Morris, Francis Ouimet (inspiration for The Greatest Game Ever Played), Fluff Cowan (Peter Jacobsen, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk's caddie) and Steve Williams (Tiger Woods and Adam Scott's caddie).
"I'm just afraid they're going to make me caddie again," Murray joked.
A statement from the Western Golf Association explained that Murray's role in Caddyshack helped "immortalize" the film and their experiences fit with the Hall of Fame's idea of the tradition and importance of caddying. Part of the Murray Brothers' goal as caddies was to attain an Evans Scholarship, a college scholarship given to teenage caddies by the Western Golf Association. Ed was the only brother to earn the the scholarship, which sent him to Northwestern University in Evanston, the same institution attended (but not graduated) by Chick Evans, who created the Evans Scholar Foundation.
Chicagoland golf fans turned out today to see Bill Murray and the hometown boy did not disappoint. #BMWChamps pic.twitter.com/M59iDMpWwB
— BMW Championship (@BMWchamps) September 17, 2015
"A good caddie makes a member feel like part of a team and like you’re trying to accomplish something together," Ed said.
All six brothers caddied for Evans in their youth. "He was saintly. It was like carrying for the Dalai Lama," Bill remembers.
Bill was paid under $3 as his earliest days as a caddie, but his wages were eventually raised to $4 a bag.
"The money got out of control. It almost got away from them," he joked.
The golf world celebrates the 35-year anniversary of Caddyshack this year. Caddies at last month's PGA Championship wore Caddyshack-themed socks courtesy of a partnership between the Association of Professional Tour Caddies and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Congratulations to the Murray Brothers on being inducted into The Caddie Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/tlqUBHGrrr
— BMW Championship (@BMWchamps) September 17, 2015
Bill currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina. He owns a portion of the Charleston RiverDogs, as well as a handful of other minor league baseball teams. He was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame in 2012.
Oh yeah, and here is Murray on dealing with Swedish police at 3:30 a.m. while driving a golf cart down the street:
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.