Rory McIlroy's bold Gareth Bale prediction comes true as pair reunite for BMW PGA Pro-Am

Gareth Bale has proved the prediction of four-time major champion Rory McIlroy about the former Real Madrid star's golf game right at this week's BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am.

Bale - whose golfing ability has been well-documented in recent years - is back in action alongside some of the best in the world, having been called up to the Pro-Am at Wentworth for the second-successive year. And like 2023, he has the honour of competing alongside Europe's No. 1 golfer in McIlroy.

Playing at the home of European golf a year earlier, the former Wales international clearly caught the eye of four-time major champion, McIlroy, who felt Bale has what it takes to make it down to scratch - a handicap of zero.

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Appearing on the podcast earlier this year, McIlroy was quizzed on which footballers had impressed him on the golf course most, with Bale right up there. He commented: "I’ve played with Teddy Sheringham – good player. Gareth Bale – he has the potential to get to scratch [a handicap of zero].

"The way he hits the ball he could be a scratch player, but he’s only played for the last few years. There is a difference between being able to hit the golf ball well and getting yourself around the golf course and managing your game – that’s the part he’s [Gareth Bale] learning now."

And McIlroy's scratch prediction for Bale has come true some months later, with the former Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur winger playing off a zero handicap at Wentworth this week. Bale opted to hang up his boots last September, ending his career aged 33 at MLS outfit, LAFC.

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Since then he has of course been able to hone in on his golf skills, and it has clearly payed off if his handicap is anything to go by. Despite announcing himself as an accomplished player on the course, the 34-year-old has admitted there is still a hefty gap between himself and the pro stars competing on Tour.

He told Uproxx last September: "There’s a big difference, don’t get me wrong. But they really just think their way around the course, they don’t make those silly mistakes, when they hit a bad shot, they hit a bad shot into the correct spot, they just get up and down from everywhere.

"The focus they have, you can see it in their eyes, they’re just so focused with every shot. I feel like, for example, with me, an amateur, I can easily hit a couple of good shots and think I’m better than I am, and then come crumbling back down to earth, and then I have to grind again."

Bale went on: "So, just seeing, I guess, the practice they put in, obviously they put themselves in position where they’re gonna keep playing while not making too many mistakes. Something now that I would love to do more that I have the time is to practice and try and get better and try to achieve a better handicap."