“Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.”
We’ve all seen the flag, held aloft by Gareth Bale and his Wales teammates as they celebrated qualification for Euro 2020. What started as a phone-in comment from former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatović quickly grew into a popular chant among the Welsh faithful , with the fateful flag making its way onto the Cardiff City Stadium pitch.
The sentiment had more than a ring of truth to it, if Bale’s grin was anything to go by. Now, as one of his country’s – and the world’s – greatest-ever players hangs up his football boots, that order of preference might change again. Just two months after performing admirably at Wales’ first World Cup in 64 years, Bale has swapped his shin pads for a sand wedge, lining up for his PGA Tour debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The tournament pairs 156 professional golfers with a celebrity or sporting amateur over four rounds to determine the best Pro-Am duo at California’s world-renowned Pebble Beach Links.
The field is packed with professional talent, from US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick to former World Number 1 Jordan Spieth and Hero World Challenge winner Viktor Hovland. Bale, who is a new TaylorMade ambassador, might be down as an amateur, but if we’re to believe one of golf’s current best, it won’t be long before he starts eyeing up the other side of the draw.
In a pre-tournament practice round at Torrey Pines, Spanish World Number 3 Jon Rahm was taken back by Bale’s golfing prowess. The pair were mic’d up over the half-round warm-up, and Rahm was visibly impressed with Bale’s game.
“I told Gareth, ‘you can’t be so good at professional football and golf at the same time,’ that just doesn’t seem fair,” Rahm joked with the press after the round. “You can’t be dedicated to one thing and have this much talent for golf – it’s not fair in the slightest.”
.