[ad_1]
Five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale has few reasons to feel nervous ahead of his ‘official’ golf debut on Thursday. Wales’ highest goalscorer (41) and most capped player of all time (111) will line up in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California as one of 156 amateurs hoping to impress alongside just as many PGA Tour peers.
Despite being one of the biggest names in European football history, even Bale’s star may be dwarfed in a field that will host household names like Hollywood actor Bill Murray, Super Bowl-winner Aaron Rodgers and two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol. Even Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has skipped this weekend’s Pro Bowl to participate at Pebble Beach, while rappers ScHoolboy Q and Macklemore will also be competing.
While the off-course careers of those taking part may prove intimidating, however, Bale’s talents on paper put him among the top 10 amateur performers in the field. That’s because only nine of the 155 other amateurs can boast lower than his two handicap coming into the contest.
The 33-year-old’s love of golf is no secret to the public, with his hectic nine-year tenure at Real Madrid dogged by media scrutiny that he was more committed to the clubs than his on-field career. Bale’s Wales team-mates also famously held up a banner that read “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order” after the nation qualified for Euro 2020.
READ MORE
Gareth Bale blasted for ‘useless’ World Cup and told two teams he should have joined
Ryder Cup-winner Rahm even suggested a handicap of two was ‘wrong’ and that Bale “should be giving strokes back to the rest of the amateurs” given his quality. Having juggled his golf interests while being one of the world’s elite in The Beautiful Game for so long, it’s only logical the Welsh whiz should get even better with so much more time on his hands to hit the greens.
Bale has been paired with 2021 Korn Ferry Tour champion Joseph Bramlett in the hope they can make Sunday’s cut following the first 54 holes. The former became accustomed to proving doubters wrong during one of the most decorated club careers of any British footballer, and some on the PGA Tour may soon be surprised at Bale’s proficiency as his golf ‘career’ gets underway in earnest.
[ad_2]
Source link