Golf365 watched Gareth Bale compete in this month’s Sunningdale Foursomes and he certainly proved that he has potential.
In driving through the green at the 318-yard par-4 his power was obvious and he showed touch around the greens, too.
He’s not the first footballer to try his hand at competitive golf, though.
In fact, it’s been quite a trend in the last 20 years or so.
Some have been promising, others less so, but there’s always a tale to tell.
Here are half a dozen of the best.
6. Andriy Shevchenko
Golf365 actually also saw the Ukrainian play at the Sunningdale Foursomes but he didn’t quite have Bale’s ability.
Shevchenko played a lot of his golf in Surrey (he lived there when playing for Chelsea) and he also teed it up on the Challenge Tour in the Kharkov Superior Cup but only managed rounds of 84-86 to miss the cut.
5. Julian Dicks
The former West Ham United and Liverpool full back was something of a tough guy so it was a bit of a surprise when he tried to make it on the minor tours.
A knee injury put paid to his hopes however. Well, that and a refreshing admission: “I wasn’t good enough. The decision was made for me.
“I played off scratch and was up against kids who were playing off plus two or three and while I was shooting one or two under par, they were firing six or seven under. I knew after a couple of tournaments I wasn’t good enough.”
4. Jimmy Bullard
The scruffy midfield joker was a decent golfer but a handful of third tier EuroPro starts came and went without a cut made so he concentrated on other things despite fighting through to the final stage of its Q School.
3. Roy Wegerle
This is a sneaky one. Born in South Africa, Wegerle played most of his football in America and even represented the US in the 1994 World Cup.
He also had a brief spell at Chelsea as well as featuring for QPR, Luton, Blackburn and Coventry.
He gave golf a go after his football career ended and played in the 2002 Alfred Dunhill Championship but missed the cut after rounds of 76-80.
2. Carlos Tevez
This maybe doesn’t count. Tevez is no great shakes with the stick in his own hands.
But he did walk the course in the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham when caddying for his friend Andres Romero who can play – in fact, Romero almost won the 2007 Open at Carnoustie.
1. Stephen Grant
He didn’t play much in the UK but he was briefly at Sunderland, Stockport County and Burnley. He had a lot more success on home soil in the League of Ireland at Waterford United and Shamrock Rovers.
At 27 he quit football and took up golf. He spends a lot of time in Florida and counts Brooks Koepka and Padraig Harrington among his practice buddies.
He still plays mini tour golf in Europe, the UK and the States (he even played on the Nordic Golf League earlier this month), and has a best of T37 from 51 starts on the Challenge Tour.
Does Cristiano Ronaldo play golf?
Back to Gareth Bale, who was once asked by fellow footballer, Rio Ferdinand, to pick his dream fourball, the rules being he could choose one celebrity, one athlete and one footballer.
Bale went with his former Real Madrid teammate for the latter: “Cristiano Ronaldo. It’d be funny to see.”
Ferdinand, a good friend of Ronaldo’s from their Manchester United days, replied: “That’s one thing I don’t think he can do is play golf.”
READ MORE: Real Madrid and Wales legend Gareth Bale stars in historic Sunningdale Foursomes golf tournament
The post Which footballers are best at golf? Golf365’s top six includes a surprise No.1 appeared first on Golf365.
Article Link: Which footballers are best at golf? Golf365's top six includes a surprise No.1 - Golf365