Rory McIlroy is never short of support whenever he plays a round of golf anywhere in the world, but on Friday he was able to count on a gee up from some sporting royalty.
That's because former Tottenham and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale followed behind the Northern Irishman as he competed in the second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Spectators were given a big surprise as former Wales captain Bale followed McIlroy, who was playing alongside fellow Englishman Justin Rose and defending champion Ryan Fox, casually ambled behind the group as it worked its way around the beautiful exclusive course in Virginia Water.
Sporting a baseball cap, Bale walked the edge of the fairways and sat by the greens, as fans shouted his name and tried to attract his attention. That included a number of Arsenal supporters, who the Welshman did his best to ignore.
Bale had played alongside McIlroy in Wednesday's Pro-Am competition, and spoke about the 'pressure' of playing with McIlroy. When football.london asked how he did in the event, Bale said: "It was a scramble format, so I didn't have a real score. I was taking shots after Rory's drives so my shots were always from the middle of the fairway. Talk about pressure!"
Bale was flanked by two bodyguards as he walked around the course following McIlroy's round. The World No. 3 shot a four under par 68 to finish his second round tied for fourth place on nine under.
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McIlroy sank five birdies during his round with just one bogey, but shot of the day belonged to his playing partner Ryan Fox who holed out an eagle from 131 yards on the par 4 16th.
McIlroy finished the day four shots adrift of clubhouse leader Matthew Baldwin with two rounds still to play.
