Gareth Bale was left stunned when a furry imposter stormed onto the green to steal his golf ball during a celebrity Pro-am golf event in Scotland.
Known for his love of golf, which at times greatly antagonised Real Madrid fans, Bale has thrown himself head-first into the sport since his retirement from football in January 2023.
Now a scratch golfer, the former Wales international is competing in the Pro-am portion of this week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour.
Paired alongside English professional Dan Brown, Bale is competing alongside celebrities such as Piers Morgan, James Anderson and Jamie Redknapp.
But the 35-year-old found himself in a scarcely believable situation during Friday’s second round when he had his ball stolen by a dog.
Chipping off a bank, Bale produced a fine effort which rolled just past the pin to give him a makeable putt on the first hole.
But before the former Real Madrid star could do so, he watched on as a dog sprinted away from its owner behind him and darted onto the green to retrieve the ball with his mouth and return it to Bale.
Fortunately for Bale, the rules of golf allowed him to return the ball to its original spot where it came to rest.
According to Rule 9.6 in the USGA’s handbook: ‘If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence (including another player in stroke play or another ball) lifted or moved a player’s ball at rest, there is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated).’
In the end, Bale went on to make par, with him and his partner Brown eventually carding a six-under-par round to leave them in contention for the pro-am team title.
After Saturday’s third round, the top 20 teams will make it through to the final round which takes place at St Andrews’ famous Old Course.
Bale has previously been seen at other pro-am events, including the PGA Tour’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California and the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth.
In the professional part of the event, English Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton holds a one-shot lead over Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts heading into the final round.
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