A year after he was shunned for his on-the-green antics, actor Bill Murray was back at Pebble Beach and on his best behavior.
Murray repeatedly told the crowd: "We're all about golf," in the first round of the AT&T National Pro Am on Thursday - which also was Groundhog Day, appropriately enough.Murray looked conservative in a tie, sweater vest and hat bearing the tournament's logo as he took to the greens of Poppy Hills with pro partner Scott Simpson. Also in his foursome was Mark Grace of the Chicago Cubs and pro Jeff Sluman.
As Murray walked to the first hole, he was hounded by fans asking for autographs. One woman held her baby in front of him.
"If the infant is trampled we're all going to feel bad tomorrow," he told the mass surrounding him.
It was a much different story at the event last year when Murray was cricized by then-PGA commissioner Deane Beman and by Tom Watson. Watson said the comedian "crossed the line."
After Murray and Simpson missed the cut in the third round, Murray wielded a baseball bat to hit a ball into Carmel Bay on the 18th hole, and declared he made his "final putt" at the AT&T.
But over the next 12 months, Beman resigned and Tim Finchem took over. Finchem appealed to Murray in two letters, apparently convincing the star of such movies as "Caddyshack" and "Stripes" to return for his fourth year.
Murray was subdued on Thursday, but still managed to crack a few jokes. When one of the marshall's admonished the crowd with "Please hold your cameras." Murray added: "If they drop they can be broken."
And when the gallery failed to provide a rousing reception for Grace, Murray chided: "Oh, come on, he's one of the Chicago Cubs. Let's hear it!"
On the first hole, Murray was caught in the trees and he asked Simpson where he should hit the ball. "Anywhere on the course," Simpson said, momentarily stealing the spotlight.
Many of Thursday's spectators clearly came to see only Murray, although George Bush, Dan Quayle, and Clint Eastwood were in groups ahead of Murray's foursome.
The loudest response from the gallery came when Murray birdied the sixth hole and gleefully tossed his ball into the crowd.