Bill Murray hospitalizes woman with golf shot
‘I hope he hits it over here,’ man said to wife before actor teed off
Bill Murray takes a shot at the Hornitos Challenge during the Outback Pro-Am at the TPC Tampa Bay on Thursday. On Friday, a shot from the actor sent a woman to the hospital.

LUTZ, Fla. - Actor Bill Murray hooked a tee shot so badly during a Pro-Am event on Friday that the ball sailed across a street next to the hole and hit a woman in her front yard. She was knocked to the ground and had to go to the hospital.

Murray was on No. 9 at the TPC Tampa Bay during the first round of the Outback Pro-Am when he hit Gail DiMaggio as she was watching the tournament.

He was playing with Hal Sutton, Jeff Sluman and Fred Paglia. They continued while Murray's caddy took him in a cart to the woman's yard, where paramedics were attending to her. Tournament officials said DiMaggio was lying on the ground, but conscious and moving.

"I wasn't sure I was in bounds or not," Murray said. "And I saw this NBC golf cart coming at me and he said, 'I hate to be the one to tell you this but you hit a lady. She's down on the ground.' That is, you know, sobering."

Murray said DiMaggio was taken to a local hospital.

"She was overjoyed when she saw me because she said she had come out to see me and her husband had just said, 'I hope he hits it over here,' " said Murray, who did not finish his round.

After signing his scorecard he joked with reporters that DiMaggio isn't the first spectator he's hit.

The 58-year-old comedian is an avid golfer who often plays in celebrity tournaments. He did not play in the Outback in 2008, but has numerous times in the past.

In 2007, Murray was stopped by Stockholm police and tested for drunk driving after being stopped driving a golf cart through the city's downtown area. The actor explained he was just using the cart to drop off fellow partygoers. He refused to take a breath test and a blood test was administered instead.

Murray also starred in one of the most famous golf movies, 1980's "Caddyshack," in which he plays Carl Spackler, an unhinged assistant greenskeeper with a vendetta against a certain gopher. He's also the author of "Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf."

I hope he hits it over here

He went over to her and whispered in her ear: "Nobody will ever believe you"

As the saying goes: Be careful of what you wish for.

A friend of mine is on the LPGA tour. She played with Bill Murray in a pro-am many years ago.

She said she could hardly play at all because she was laughing so hard for the entire round.

LUTZ, Fla. - One day after she was plunked on the head by Bill Murray’s wayward tee shot, Gayle DiMaggio had a request: a signed copy of his movie “Caddyshack.”

The actor, meanwhile, was back on the course Saturday for the second round of the Outback Pro-Am. And the course marshals took no chances: They wore hard hats.

DiMaggio lives on the course where Murray hooked his shot far to the left of the No. 9 hole at TPC Tampa Bay. She was hit on the left temple Friday as she stood in her backyard to watch the first round. She never lost consciousness but needed stitches at a hospital.

DiMaggio, who has lived on the course for eight years, recounted her mishap and her encounter with Murray.

“He came over and laid down on the ground with me and he was very concerned, asking if I was OK,” she said. “Once he knew I was OK and not seriously hurt, then he started joking with me, asking how many fingers he was holding up.”

DiMaggio was at it again Saturday, watching the second round, and was almost conked again. This time, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks nearly hit her. But when Murray was about to shoot, she took cover. DiMaggio stayed inside her screen enclosure until the actor’s foursome teed off. Friends and family stood in her yard wearing hard hats.

Bill Murray's errant golf shot went awry from hole number 9, seen in this image, sailed across the street and hit a woman in her front yard. Murray was golfing at the TPC Tampa Bay during the Outback Pro-Am. The woman was taken to the hospital after her injury.

Murray came to DiMaggio’s backyard and asked her how she was feeling. DiMaggio said the only thing she wanted from the actor was his autograph on a copy of “Caddyshack,” the rollicking golf comedy from 1980 in which Murray starred.

Earlier, a large crowd showed for Murray’s 12:50 p.m. tee time. The 58-year-old comedian joked through most of his partners’ tee shots. When Murray stepped up for his shot, the course marshals also donned hard hats and warned the crowd for incoming shots from the “Ghostbusters” star.

Murray laughed, and before teeing off told the crowd, “This one is for a little girl in a hospital.”

His drive was a perfect draw down the fairway.