Carell tees up for golf comedy "Missing Links"

Cast member Steve Carell smiles during an ''Inside The Office'' panel discussion at the Leonard H. Goldenson theatre in North Hollywood, California March 18, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Steve Carell and Warner Bros. are aiming for the fairway.

The studio has acquired "Missing Links," a golf comedy based on a novel by ESPN's Rick Reilly. Carell is attached to star as a golfer angling for a better place to play and will produce via his Carousel Prods. banner.

"The Break-Up" screenwriter Jay Lavender is writing the screenplay.

Reilly's 1997 comedic novel tells of a group of bumblers who, after playing for years at a run-down municipal golf course in a working-class Boston neighborhood, concoct a series of schemes that they hope will lead to them teeing off at a nearby elite club.

Reilly is a longtime Sports Illustrated columnist, known for his irreverent brand of commentary, who two years ago left the Time Inc. magazine to pen a back-page column for ESPN the Magazine and write for ESPN.com. He also tried his hand at screenwriting with the 2008 football comedy "Leatherheads."

Carell is next up on the big screen in the romantic comedy "Date Night" and is also on board for the sequel of "Get Smart." He has turned overconfident, deluded characters into a specialty with his Michael Scott role on "The Office."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)