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Recently-retired Gareth Bale is set to make his PGA Tour debut when he joins the celebrity contingent in next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Bale, 33, announced his retirement from football earlier this month, just weeks after leading out Wales at the country’s first World Cup for 64 years.
He’s set to make his first public appearance since calling time on his glittering career when he pegs it up in the long-running tour event next week.
In a post on Instagram, he 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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Bale will be joined by an all-star cast of celebs, including actors Jason Bateman, Billy Murray and Chris O’Donnell, comedian Ray Romano, American football stars Larry Fitzgerald and Aaron Rodgers, as well as singers Eric Church, Jake Owen and Macklemore.
Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick headline the professional half of the field, with Tom Hoge looking to successfully defend the title he won last year.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s top footballers, Bale’s
trophy-laden nine-year stint at Real Madrid was punctuated by claims
that he was more interested in playing golf than football.
Indeed,
a Spanish newspaper claimed that the sport was responsible for injuries
that sidelined him for large spells during his time with Real, and he
famously displayed a flag with the words “Wales, Golf, Madrid: In that
order” after helping his country qualify for Euro 2020.
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Before
flying to the World Cup in November, Wales coach Rob Page announced
that he had imposed a golf ban on Bale and his teammates during their time in Qatar.
An
ambassador for the R&A, Bale even has a three-hole golf course in
the back garden of his property in Glamorgan, South Wales, comprising
replicas of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, the ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth hole at
Royal Troon, and the 12th at Augusta National.
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