I'm 100 per cent sure I couldn't make it as a professional golfer
Gareth Bale (right), with Colin Montgomerie, is used to playing celebrity golf events (Mike Egerton/PA)
'I'm fully, 100 per cent sure, I can not make it professionally,' Bale told BBC Wales ahead of this week's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl.
'When you are in golf and you see professional golfers play, compared to even your best stuff, it is nowhere near.
'When I've played with those players and watched them, you really appreciate how good they actually are.
Multi-sport athlete ⚽️
The cart path is no problem @GarethBale11. pic.twitter.com/7EOuM3IE4M
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 2, 2023
'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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Big-name PGA Tour stars in danger of being shut out of £75million tournament
The 19th edition of the FedExCup gets underway next month, with the playoffs consisting of three events to determine the FedExCup champion and the winner of a hefty prize Several big-name PGA Tour stars are at risk of failing to make next month's FedExCup Playoffs. The PGA Tour 's regular season concludes this week at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the Wyndham Championship. The top 70-ranked players in the FedExCup regular season standings - contested between January and August this year - will make it to the FedExCup Playoffs, which get underway next week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The FedExCup Playoffs consist of three events, featuring a progressive cut with fields of 70 (FedEx St. Jude Championship), 50 (BMW Championship) and 30 (TOUR Championship). Points from the regular season carry over to the first two playoff events, while the latter is played as a 72-hole stroke-play event where all players start the tournament at even par. Up for grabs is a share of the $100million (£75m) total bonus money. The best performer over the course of four rounds at the TOUR Championship wins the FedExCup and a whopping $10m (£7.5m) prize - claimed last year by Scottie Scheffler. World No. 1 Scheffler banked a staggering $25m (£18.7m) last year, but the PGA have since revamped how the end-of-season prizes are distributed. The intention is to spread the rewards and make sure long-term efforts are recognised accordingly. Many of the Tour's biggest stars will therefore not play at the Wyndham Championship, instead taking the week off to relax and prepare for the FedExCup Playoffs. However, some well-known PGA Tour stars are still in need of a strong performance to make the cut. Among those are Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau who, despite being on the right side of the ledger, are not secure just yet. Yet, there are those who are in an even more desperate situation. Perhaps the biggest star on Tour that needs a huge performance is 2023 Ryder Cup Team USA member Max Homa. Homa has made just 11 of 19 cuts during the 2025 PGA Tour season, with only one top 10 finish across all of those coming at the John Deere Classic. Homa is currently 106th in the FedExCup standings with 351 points, meaning only a win or a second-place finish would put him into the playoffs. Australian Adam Scott is in a similar position, sitting in 85th on 445 points. Scott is tied for the most FedExCup Playoff appearances since it began in 2007 and has actually played well this season, though his failure to close out strong on Sundays means he doesn't have a single top 10 on his resume. Veteran golfer Gary Woodland is also hoping to make the PGA Tour's climax, having inspirationally returned to the field since getting a brain tumour removed in late 2023. The 41-year-old has 13 made cuts in 19 tournaments this season, including six top 25s, though he is in 75th place and 32 points behind Matti Schmid, who currently occupies the final spot on 594 points. The winner of next month's TOUR Championship will be the player with the lowest stroke total over 72 holes, receiving a five-year PGA Tour exemption along with their prize money.
BreakingNews.ie
24 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Cameron Mackintosh in tribute to ‘wry, generous and utterly original' Tom Lehrer
West End impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh has remembered US song satirist Tom Lehrer as 'wry, generous and utterly original' following his death aged 97. Lehrer died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to reports. Advertisement In his work he satirised marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, and his songs included Poisoning Pigeons In The Park, The Old Dope Peddler, Be Prepared and The Vatican Rag, which took aim at the Roman Catholic Church. Sir Cameron Mackintosh has paid tribute to Tom Lehrer (Ian West/PA) Mackintosh said in a tribute that Lehrer 'was a very special kind of genius – a master of language, mathematics and contagious melody whose wickedly witty intellect defined an era of musical satire and influenced everyone else that followed him'. He said: 'At the piano he was a maestro of devilish charm and exquisite timing, able to make a song about drug addiction, The Old Dope Peddler, sound like a lullaby. 'But in real life he had no ambition to be a performer and was actually quite modest and shy – writing these outrageous songs for the delight of his friends and peers.' Advertisement Lehrer began his working life in academia and science, before being drafted into the US Army in 1955. He used his military experience to write the songs The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be and It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier. The tribute continued: 'Eventually, he was persuaded to appear in concerts around the world, but he only did so so that he could travel – at someone else's expense. 'By the early 1960s, he was not only bored with touring but also writing, using the excuse that, 'political satire had become obsolete when Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize'. Advertisement 'Tom wanted to go back to his 'day-job', teaching mathematics and running classes on The History Of Musical Theatre on the side. 'I had grown up in the mid-50s listening to recordings of his wonderful songs, and shortly after I had produced my first international hit Side By Side by Sondheim in the mid-70s, I suddenly got the idea that Tom's material might also work as a stage revue. 'When we met, he was disarmingly grateful for me wanting to, 'exhume and repackage' his 'meagre oeuvre and foist it on a previously unsuspecting audience', as long as I was to send him some sums of money from time to time – that was the nearest we ever got to a contract. 'That was Tom – wry, generous and utterly original. Advertisement 'It was the start of what Tom calls 'a perfect blendship' that lasted over 50 years, and I am profoundly grateful that I had the privilege of getting to know such an extraordinary man so well.' Lehrer was born in New York City, and his involvement with music began when he was sent to piano lessons by his mother during his childhood. In the early 1960s he worked as the in-house songwriter for the US edition of satirical TV show That Was The Week That Was, and in 2012, some 60 years after its initial recording, his song The Old Dope Peddler was sampled by rapper 2 Chainz on his debut album Based On A T.R.U. Story. Mackintosh continued: 'Tom's legacy is timeless, his humour still terrifyingly relevant and I like to think he's getting ready to stage The Vatican Rag behind the Pearly Gates. Standing room only, of course.' Advertisement Theatre owner Sir Cameron has produced three of the world's longest-running musicals – Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Cats. He owns venues including London's Sondheim, Noel Coward and Prince Edward theatres.
The Herald Scotland
37 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
European champions England given a hero's welcome outside Buckingham Palace
For the first time since England teams began competing at major international tournaments in 1950, a side bearing the three lions returned home victorious as Chloe Kelly's winning kick capped a stunning fightback against the world champions, making Wiegman's players the first to win a tournament outside of England. It was a fitting intervention that, as the bus arrived from the Mall to a specially-erected stage in front of the palace at around 12:20, an overcast sky over London parted for the first time and bathed the European champions in sunshine. Some supporters had waited for 12 hours for captain Leah Williamson and her team. The earliest devotees reportedly set up camp just after midnight in anticipation of the players' arrival on the Mall just past noon, to be joined by fans who had travelled from all over the country and who represented a cross-section of ages and backgrounds. A carnival atmosphere had been heightened at around 11am when footage was shown on a big screen of England's remarkable route through the tournament. From the disappointment of the loss to France with which they began the defence of their title, to the escapology acts of the knockout stages that saw them fight back from the brink of elimination against Sweden and Italy. England celebrated during Tuesday's homecoming victory parade (Gareth Fuller/PA) The England supporters' band – the soundtrack to so many tournament disappointments throughout decades of England teams returning home empty-handed – were in attendance, underscoring the significance to English football of the Lionesses' back-to-back tournament triumphs. Later, the Central Band of the Royal Air Force took over to serenade the players onto stage with a rendition of 'Sweet Caroline'. Addressing the crowd, a visibly emotional Williamson said: 'Special people, we love each other, we've got each other's back on and off the pitch. 'Everything we do, we do for us and the team but we do it for the country and young girls. This job never existed thirty years ago. This story's not done yet.' The duo you didn't know you needed 😁😁 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 29, 2025 Wiegman, who was coaxed into dancing by an on-stage appearance from Afrobeat star Burna Boy, said: 'We just kept hope and belief and (the players) showed up when it was really necessary and urgent. 'There's a huge talent pool in this team. The bonding in this team in this tournament, that made the difference. Everyone was willing to step up and support each other.' Kelly, whose goal in the final moment of extra-time put England through against Italy – before hitting the winning penalty in the final – said: 'Pressure? What pressure? It feels so good to stand side by side with these girls. Thank you to everyone who got out to support us. It's so f*****g special.' A reported crowd of 50,000 lined central London's Mall to celebrate with the Lionesses (Yui Mok/PA) Goalkeeper and penalty hero Hannah Hampton said: 'Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. If it makes you happy go and follow that smile.' Young player of the tournament Michelle Agyemang, whose equalising goals in the quarter-final and semi-final, said: 'It's still surreal. It doesn't even seem real.' The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for when Williamson lifted the European Championship trophy high as Buckingham Palace disappeared behind plumes of red and white smoke and 'Sweet Caroline' echoed again over London.
