From the football field to the PGA Tour! Gareth Bale swaps his cleats for golf clubs

Former Real Madrid and Tottenham football star Gareth Bale decided to end his professional football career just a few weeks ago. Instead, at the age of 33, he will make one big debut. He will be competing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am alongside US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick.

Gareth Bale is a familiar address for football fans. Back in late 2022, he represented Wales at the World Cup in Qatar, while also becoming his country’s top scorer in the national team. He played for famous clubs like Southampton, Tottenham and Real Madrid, where he spent nine long years.

He won the UEFA Champions League five times in his career, but he also has three UEFA Super Cup trophies, three Club World Cup medals and the same number of titles in the top Spanish football league (La Liga). In Wales, he has dominated the Footballer of the Year poll a total of six times.

Bale made his presence felt after qualifying for EURO 2020 when he was photographed with the team holding a Welsh flag that read.Golf. Madrid. In this order.” This subsequently displeased Real fans, who then booed him in their own stadium. He hasn’t had it easy with the White Ballet fans in recent years. They often accused him of not trying hard enough on the pitch.

Shortly after the championship in Qatar, he announced the end of his professional career at the age of 33 on 9 January 2023. But he’s not going to be a couch potato. Bale is known to be, among other things, an avid amateur golfer. Now he will be able to sell his passion for the sport at an extremely prestigious event.

Early next month, he will take part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, where he will walk the green plains of California alongside Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the famous US Open in 2022. The field will include 156 other amateurs, which traditionally includes several celebrities.

“I’m excited to announce that I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am early next month! Let’s go,” he excitedly announced recently on his Instagram account. The popular tournament will distribute $9 million in prize money to the top participants. Among the celebrities to be featured, in addition to Bale, will be actor Bill Murray and singer Macklemore.

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The last time the famous footballer was with Los Angeles FC. He has a very low handicap in golf and has often spoken recently about wanting to focus more on his golf career. This is despite the fact that the Football Association of Wales intends to offer him a job.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February at three different courses, currently Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Monterey Peninsula Country Club. All proceeds from the tournament go to benefit charities in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

Source: PGA Tour, Instagram