Gareth Bale 'Has No Business Being That Good' At Golf - Jon Rahm
The Spaniard was hugely impressed by the soccer star's ability on the course after playing with him in a pro-am
Gareth Bale has revealed that he will play in next week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour just weeks after announcing he is retiring from football. Before that, though, he teed it up with one of the world's best players, Jon Rahm, in the pro-am before this week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
That left Rahm more than a little impressed with the 33-year-old's ability. The Spaniard 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. Can't be dedicated to one thing and have this much talent for golf, it's not fair in the slightest."
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It is well known that Bale is a huge fan of the game and even has replicas of three of his favourite par-3s, including the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, on the grounds of his home in Cardiff. Meanwhile, one betting industry expert has also produced odds of just 5/1 that he turns professional. Rahm didn't go as far as to say that could be in the Welshman's future, but he admitted he'd like to see him play again. He said: "He's looking to retire soon and you can tell he loves this sport, he loves golf and he really wants to get to play a little bit more, so hopefully in the future I'll see him more times in the pro-am.”
Rahm was then asked if Bale had asked for feedback, with the Spaniard admitting he didn’t need any. He said: “He didn't ask for anything, nor should he be asking, he's already good enough. Like I said, he has no business being that good when he's a professional football player.”
Rahm, wasn’t finished there, and suggested that, even with a handicap of 2, Bale is only likely to improve, saying: “The second he's done and he can actually practice more, he's going to get a lot better. He got two strokes, which I think it's already wrong. He should be giving strokes back to the rest of the amateurs because he is a very, very good player.”
Rahm enters this week’s tournament looking for his third win in a row as he aims to reclaim the World No.1 position.
Click the link to watch footage of Rahm and Bale playing in the pro-am
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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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