Women's Open a 'massive step' for Wales

BBC News

6 days ago

Wales. Golf. Porthcawl.Eyes from across the golfing world will be on the south Wales coastline this week as Royal Porthcawl hosts the AIG Women's Open.It is being billed as the biggest female sporting event ever staged in Wales, thanks to a combination of the tournament's status, its global reach and the fact that all the world's top players will be involved. For Gareth Bale, the football icon who is also a golf fanatic, the hope is that the staging of the Women's Open - the final golf major of 2025 - will have a long-term impact on the game in his homeland."To have the largest women's sporting event ever to be held in Wales is amazing," Bale says."It's a massive step in the right direction, especially for Welsh golf."
Lydia Ko is the reigning Women's Open champion having seen off America's Lilia Vu - the victor in 2023 - to win at St Andrews in 2024.The New Zealander will be among the favourites this week, alongside a number of other contenders such as world number one Nelly Korda, from the USA, and Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul.Charley Hull and rising star Lottie Woad, for whom the Women's Open will be just a second event as a professional, are among those hoping to lead the charge for a first British winner since Georgia Hall's victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2018.Ladies European Tour rookie Darcey Harry, a Royal Porthcawl member, will fly the flag for Wales as the 22-year-old plays just the second major of her young career.Australia's Grace Kim will aim for a second successive major victory having triumphed at the Evian Championship earlier in July, with fellow Australian Minjee Lee, Sweden's Maja Stark and Mao Sigao, of Japan, also looking for a second major success this year."All those top players are going to be here and I think everyone in Wales will want to come out and witness some greatness," Bale says.
'There won't be any professional golf for me'
Bale has played many of the world's finest golf courses – and describes Royal Porthcawl as being "right up there" with the best he has seen.The former Real Madrid forward has fine-tuned his own game since retiring from football in 2023, cutting his handicap from "three or four" when he was still playing to just 0.1 now."I try to play twice a week if I can - if I can get another practice session it's always a bonus," he says.Should Bale get his wish, some of his time may soon be taken up by Cardiff City, with the 36-year-old involved in a consortium looking to buy the Bluebirds.As he speaks to BBC Sport Wales next to the 18th green at Porthcawl, Bale declines to comment on Cardiff as he focuses instead on golf.
Fellow former professional footballers Jimmy Bullard and Peter Odemwingie are also fine golfers, with both making failed attempts to qualify for the men's Open Championship this summer.There has been speculation at times over whether Bale might fancy his chances in golf's professional ranks – but despite the fact that he is close to being a scratch player, he insists that is not going to happen."When you are in golf and you see professional golfers play, compared to even your best stuff, it is nowhere near," he says. "Never mind just playing with your friends, they are doing it under the most severe pressure, in tournament conditions, in hard weather… so there won't be any professional [golf] for me."But I love the game. I love watching it, I love growing it and that's why we are here."
Hopes for Harry - and for more Welsh players to come
Bale has explained previously how he hopes a sporting festival set up in his name will help produce more top-class Welsh professional golfers.Wales is short of golfing stars right now, though Harry's qualification – courtesy of her win at June's Hulencourt Women's Open in Belgium – means the home crowd will have one player to cheer at least.Bale's hope is that, in time, many more Welsh players will follow Harry's lead by making a mark in professional golf."Everybody behind the scenes, with my golf championship, with Wales Golf, we are trying to promote golf, to get more kids playing golf," he says."Hopefully in the future we will see more players like Darcey playing in these majors and hopefully winning them."
Bale reckons experience of Porthcawl will be a "bonus" for Harry, who missed the cut as she made her major debut at the recent Evian Championship."She is going to be very nervous but I am sure she is going to relish the opportunity, and hopefully she will have a bit more knowledge on the course than the rest," Bale says.As for who will emerge victorious, Bale believes the weather conditions will be significant."If it's calm, the Americans maybe come into it a bit more," he says."But if the wind blows and it gets a bit cold and wet, then I think the British, the Europeans, will come into it a bit more."It's difficult to say, but someone's going to have to play very well to win here."