Gareth Bale rules out turning pro in golf despite impressive PGA Tour pro-am debut
Gareth Bale is at the 2023 Open Championship and is soaking in the atmosphere of a major championship. The ex-footballer is, of course, no stranger to the world of golf. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro Am earlier this year.
Bale enjoys playing golf and even has a golf course on his stunning estate in Wales. He played at the BMW International Celebrity Pro Am tournament as well. Now, at the Open, he had a chance to show off his skills.
Participating in a small, fun game, Bale was asked to shoot a 130-yard shot using a 5-iron after a computer randomly selected the distance and equipment for him.
Needless to say, Gareth Bale did not fail to impress and hit the ball to exactly 128 yards. However, despite his impressive play, Bale does not think he'll turn pro anytime soon. Turning pro is quite hard, especially for celebrity golfers. Speaking via Sky Sports Twitter, Bale said:
"No, absolutely not. All I can see is everything saying give up. I think I'll give up before I start! Even if you get to a scratch, obviously it is great. These guys are +7 and +8, it's a different level. You really appreciate what they're able to do when you just stand and watch them play week in and week out."Gareth Bale impresses pros with golf skills
Gareth Bale has a handicap that is just above scratch (0), and he is an excellent amateur golfer. Bale has a mini course at home with three holes that mirror the 17th hole at Sawgrass, the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon, and the 12th hole at Augusta.
World No. 3 Jon Rahm was especially impressed by Bale's golfing skills. Rahm said that it was evident that Bale really loved the sport and wants to play it. He hopes to see Bale play more events in the future. Speaking via Sky Sports, he said:
"I told Gareth, you can't be so good at professional football and golf at the same time, it just doesn't seem fair. The second he's done and he can actually practice more, he's going to get a lot better."More from Sportskeeda
" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1598643, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1598643); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1598643) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1598643) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tLzOq6uso5WasaJ6wqikaJ%2BfobNwusSwqmavkamwqXnGmqmerJhir6K4xGaprqSVqHq1wdGnoKefXaW%2FsHnGqKOfZZSawLG1055koqWgp7K0v8ivnGaol5Z6tbvUq2Spqp9irq55w56Zrqw%3D