Gopher's Blog

After looking over the tournament tee times, I knew Spyglass was the place to be (even if my arch nemesis, Bill Murray, the clown princee of darkness was going to be there, read more about that episode in Friday's Herald). He's a few of the things I saw and overheard:

Charles Schwab, multimillionaire investment man, to an autograph-seeking fan while coming off the ninth green: "I'll sign
anything, even checks."

George Lopez on the 12th green: After finishing up on the 12th, Lopez walked up the hill behind the green to chat with some fans sitting near the rope. He picked up a Herald sitting on the ground nearby.
"Anything good in here?" he asked a fan.
"Nothing really," answered the fan (who obviously didn't see my column).
"Does it say that Bill Murray hates me?"

Murray on the 12th: After hitting his tee shot short of the green and into a sand trap on the right, some fans calle to Murray.
"I'm afraid we sat here just to watch you walk through the sand," one man said. Murray obliged, dancing his way from one end of the trap to the other, where his ball was sitting. Before taking his shot, Murray used his right foot to spell out B-I-L-L. After a second, he smiled and added a Y.
The theatrics were just beginning for Murray. As playing partner Scott Simpson lined up a 10-foot put, Murray began his barrage. "Hey knucklehead!" he screamed. "Hey knucklehead! Don't miss that putt, knucklehead!"
After watching Simpson slide his putt past the hole, Murray faced the crowd. "This is what I have to deal with."
On the 13th, Murray outdrove the entire group, including Simpson by about 30 yards.

Also on the 13th, ESPN's Chris Berman hit one of his best drives of the day, just left of the fairway. "Who said this was a rebuilding year for you?" Murray asked.

One of the best celebrity shots of the day came from comedian Ray Romano. On the 16th fairway, Romano pushed his ball right. The ball went down into a large ridge, about 30 yards short of the green. Romano found his ball on the side of the steep ridge, about 10 feet down and buried in heavy rough.
"I'll try, but it ain't coming out," he said. Instead, Romano sent a high, arcing shot onto the green.
After missing the 20-foot putt, comedian Kevin James posed the question, "Hey, what was that for?"
"A six," Romano said. He pounded his chest, drawing laughs from the gallery, and added, "It ain't about the score. It's about heart."

Billionaire television star Donald Trump was the celebrity attraction in his foursome, but the other amateur in the group, Geoff Yang, turned out to be the crowd-pleaser Thursday morning at Spyglass Hill. Yang, a 7 handicap, smacked a 140-yard 9-iron on the fourth hole, a shot that bounced on the front of the green and rolled into the cup for a
true eagle.

Kevin James, star of "King of Queens," offered some words of support as fellow comedian Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond") lined up a four-inch putt on No. 11 at Spyglass. "C'mon, Ray," James said. "Get it close!"

ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman lined up a 25-foot putt Thursday at Spyglass and declared, "If this goes in, we'll have a story." After rolling the putt three feet beyond the hole, he staggered toward the crowd and said, "I'm exhausted."

It was a big night Wednesday for the AT&T volunteers, who were treated to performances by comedians Ray Romano (whose bit included outtakes from "Everybody Loves Raymond") and George Lopez, saxophonist Kenny G (who played the theme song from Clint Eastwood's new film, "Million Dollar Baby," written by Eastwood himself), opera star Thomas Hampson, and singers Michael Bolton, Glen Campbell and Huey Lewis, among others. The show was hosted by veteran comedian and emcee Tom Dreesen.

Friday, the A-list is at Poppy. I'll be watching.
posted by Herald Gopher at 9:05 PM

Spyglass was the place to be

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