PGA Professional will have Caddyshack star on the bag for U.S. Open practice rounds
By T.J. Auclair · September 10, 2020
Forty years after Caddyshack was released, Danny Noonan finally has another loop.
Michael O’Keefe, the actor who famously played Noonan and caddied for Chevy Chase’s Ty Webb in the 1980 golf comedy, will caddie in next Monday and Tuesday’s practice rounds at Winged Foot ahead of the U.S. Open for Danny Balin, the PGA Head Professional at Fresh Meadow in Lake Success, N.Y.
Mark Cannizzaro from the New York Post reported the news on Wednesday evening.
O’Keefe wrote a piece for Golf.com earlier this month jokingly expressing his interest in caddying at Winged Foot.
Thanks to Balin, the 65-year-old actor will get his shot.
“Whenever I would meet someone and say, ‘I’m Danny,’ they’d go, ‘Danny, do you do drugs?’ ’’ Balin told The Post.
According to The Post, O’Keefe grew up in Larchmont, N.Y., just a couple of miles from Mamaroneck, where Winged Foot is located. O’Keefe caddied at Winged foot in 1971 and 1972 before he went on to pursue his acting career. His brother Bill, The Post said, is a longtime member at Winged Foor and is a past president at the club.
“I thought, ‘What if there’s a golfer out there who’s willing to give me a shot to carry their bag?’ ’’ O’Keefe told The Post. “It’s not like I’m going to mess anybody up. I do know the course. It could be fun.’’
That’s apparently what Balin — a three-time Met Section PGA Champion and two-time New York State Open Champion — thought, too.
From The Post:
“I try to take this somewhat serious, so I would never do this during a tournament round,’’ Balin said. “But I was like, ‘Yeah, this will be cool. Danny Noonan. Monday and Tuesday.’ It’ll be a fun couple of days. It’ll lighten the mood up.’’
When asked how realistic he thought his chances were of getting a bag for the Open, O’Keefe said, “I think it’s absolutely as big a long shot as Carl Spackler winning the Masters,’’ referring to the Bill Murray character who was the mentally unstable groundskeeper in the movie.
