RETIRED FOOTBALL GREAT GARETH BALE TO PLAY GOLF

Gareth Bale announced on Monday that he will compete in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament in February, just weeks after announcing his retirement from football.

Bale, who retired from golf earlier this month, will play alongside some of the world’s top golf professionals at the famous Californian links course.

“Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month!” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram. Let’s get started.”

Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Bale won five Champions League titles and three La Liga titles with Real Madrid, but he maintained a golf obsession that irritated Madrid fans.

He posed with a banner that read, ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order’ while on international duty with Wales.

Bale, who finished his club career with Los Angeles FC, represented Wales at last year’s World Cup in Qatar before retiring.

He now has time to devote to his second sporting passion.

From February 2-5, there will be 156 amateurs and the same number of professionals, including US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and world number five Patrick Cantlay.