Bill Murray wins at Pebble Beach with D.A. Points

Having to contend with a wise-cracking comedian throughout an event is not a winning recipe for everyone but it proved to be a perfect tonic for D.A. Points at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The 34-year-old American clinched his first PGA Tour win on Sunday in his 128th career start on the U.S. circuit, and he also triumphed in the separate pro-am competition with his playing partner Bill Murray.

Points grew up idolizing the U.S. actor and comedian, a fellow Illinois native who has been a regular participant in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 1992.

"It will take me a really long time to truly grasp what I was able to accomplish with Bill this week," Points told reporters after securing victory by two shots with a closing five-under-par 67 on the Pebble Beach Golf Links.

"I grew up on the 17th hole of the local country club in Illinois and both my parents played and taught me the game. To win on the PGA Tour, especially at Pebble Beach and especially with Bill Murray ... I don't think I could even dream it up."

Murray, a tournament fixture at Pebble Beach in recent years, is probably the slowest moving celebrity in the pro-am field with his unique approach to the week, and therefore a big distraction for some players.

The 60-year-old from Wilmette in Illinois, the most notable amateur to compete in the event since fellow actor Jack Lemmon, is renowned for his high-octane and unpredictable entertainment out on the course.

Murray has swung baseball bats on the 18th green, wrestled a woman in a sand trap, attacked television cameramen and tackled a windblown umbrella.

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"Everybody all week kept saying: 'Well, you got the short end of the stick playing with Murray and he's so crazy'," Points said. "I never, ever felt that way. I tried to embrace it.

"I was expecting him to be more of a distraction than he was. Maybe he toned it down, maybe he didn't but he just seemed to have fun. It kept me loose, having a good time with Bill.

"I've wanted to play with him for a few years now. Bill is from Illinois and I'm from Illinois as well, so we have that in common."

Murray, who achieved a level of golfing immortality with his role as assistant greens-keeper Carl Spackler in the film "Caddyshack", laid out his twin objectives for the week when he first met Points.

"I said: 'Well, my goal when I play is I like to have the most fun and win'," Murray recalled. "And he said: 'Those two things usually go together'.

"And I thought: 'That's about as solid an endorsement of where we are going this week as I could have gotten'. I felt like, this is cool, this could really happen. And it did."

Murray ended up winning the pro-am title for the first time at Pebble Beach, having previously come closest with in 2005 when he finished fourth alongside professional Scott Simpson.

"Scott and I could have won this a couple of times ... but you know, we didn't," Murray said. "(Winning on Sunday) makes me feel better than all of the others which is nice.

"I knew the only chance D.A. had to win was if we could make it through the entire week without asking him what the initials D.A. stood for. I didn't, and he's the champion."

For the record, those initials stand for Darren Andrews.