Gareth Bale will have some interesting company when he tees it up on the PGA Tour for the first time.
Bale is taking part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California over the next three days, partnering American professional Joseph Bramlett in the £7.3 million event. And making up Bale’s fourball on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be Yahoo! billionaire Jerry Yang and his pro, Swedish star David Lingmerth.
Yang, 54, founded Yahoo! in 1994, is worth around £3billion and is a keen golfer who has played in the prestigious Pebble Beach event several times. But 33-year-old Bale should have the edge on Yang on the course - the Welshman has a handicap of two while the Taiwanese-American plays off eight.
Famously - while still playing for Real Madrid - Bale once posed in front of a banner that read WALES. GOLF. MADRID. IN THAT ORDER. And now, golf is number one on that list as he drives off on one of the most famous stretches of golfing land in the world.
Bale and his partner will play Spyglass Hill Golf Course in the opening round tomorrow before tackling the Monterey Peninsula course before the third round at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday. The ex-Spurs and Real footballer has had a long-standing passion for golf and will be one of 156 amateurs competing on the West Coast of the States in the flagship PGA Tour event.
He will be pitting his skills against the likes of legendary NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, comedian Bill Murray and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. And in the paid ranks, last year’s US Open winner Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ryder Cup star Justin Rose will be competing for the £1.3 million that will go to the winner of the professional competition.
Bale warmed up for the Pebble Beach challenge by playing nine holes with world number three Jon Rahm in San Diego last week. And the Spaniard - who has won two recent PGA Tour events - was mightily impressed with the Welsh legends game.
Rahm said: “I told Gareth you just can’t be so good at professional football and golf at the same time - it just doesn’t seem fair. You can’t be dedicated to one thing and still have this much talent for golf - it’s not fair in the slightest.”
Bale and Bramlett, along with Yang and Lingmerth, start at 8.30 am tomorrow (Thursday). That is 4.30pm UK time and the event will be covered by Sky Sports.
