Gareth Bale has been confirmed to be beginning a new career away from football, with the former Tottenham and Real Madrid forward announced to be taking part in a PGA Tour Pro-Am golf tournament early next month.
Bale ended his career after his participation in the World Cup last year, with the Wales star having spent the final months of his career playing for Los Angeles FC in MLS. His first Pro-Am golf competition will also take place in California, with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am taking place at the beginning of February.
Bale was restricted from competing in all of the golf competitions that he would have liked to during his playing career and the chance to play alongside some of the biggest stars of the sport is a great opportunity just two weeks into his retirement.
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The tournament takes place between February 2 and February 5 and sees as many as 156 pro players compete alongside amateurs for the chance to claim their share of a prize fund of $9million (£7.3million). Stars of the sport such as US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Jordan Spieth are expected to compete alongside amateurs with Bale lining up alongside Hollywood stars Bill Murray and Jason Bateman.
Bale has long since been open about his love of golf and part of his unpopularity with fans at Real Madrid stemmed from his love of the sport. A banner which was unfurled after Wales' qualification for Euro 2020 by his teammates read: 'Wales, Golf, Madrid - in that order' and this compounded the problem in Madrid but now he will have the freedom to pursue the sport at his leisure following retirement.
Confirming his attendance in the tournament on Instagram, Bale wrote: "Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month! Let’s go."
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