Gareth Bale insisted he meant his miraculous chip shot that highlighted a combined round of 65 alongside Joseph Bramlett on the opening day of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The retired Wales captain also admitted to feeling the nerves on the first tee at Spyglass Hill, traditionally the toughest of the three courses used for the PGA Tour event, despite being used to performing in front of hugs crowds.
Bale and Bramlett shot a seven-under round of 65 to sit in a tie for 18th on the amateur team leaderboard – which is littered with celebrity names – with Pebble Beach and Monterrey Peninsula still to play before the top 25 make it through to the final round.
It was Bale’s up-and-down from the cart path that was the highlight of the round, as he stunned his effort into the huge bank guarding the green before the ball bounced softly and rolled up nicely for a shot putt he’d make for par.
Gareth Bale that is ridiculous 😯😅pic.twitter.com/hJOviskf2IFebruary 2, 2023
“I think straight away it was, I asked the cameraman, I was like, I walked up and said, Did you get that? He was like, I did. And I was like, Yes. It was a good laugh,” said Bale, who insisted he meant to play that shot, even it the end result required a slice of good fortune.
“So, I couldn’t play it proper because there was a curb in front of me. In my practice swing I hit the curb. So I was like I have to really like dig it. I put it back in my stance and hit it into the bank.
“So of course there was a lot of luck involved, don’t get me wrong. But, yeah, the shot that I guess I tried to play and you need a bit of luck along the way.
“I guess a lot of amateurs find themselves out of position. Yeah, it was a great shot. Just tried to put it into the bank and hope for the best, like most amateurs do. It was nice to see it roll up nice and close. It was a great shot. I can’t really say much more.”
Playing partner Bramlett was already in for par, but made Bale putt out to complete the up-and-down just for the experience.
“Oh, my gosh,” was Bramlett’s post-round reaction to the chip. “It was funny because I didn’t know where he hit it and then I saw where he was taking his practice swings and I was a little concerned.
“Next thing I know the ball’s bouncing up through the rough and he’s got three and a half feet. And then he came up to me and he’s like, Hey, I think I’m just going to pick it up.
“And I’m like, No, you got to finish that up-and-down. It’s going to be one of the…
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