Soccer’s Bale draws crowd at Spyglass Hill
PEBBLE BEACH — High school kids clamored for photos on Gareth Bale’s walk from the No. 17 green to No. 18 tee. Then, after he completed his round, adults along the rope line repeatedly asked him to pose for quick selfies.
The man does have nearly 50 million (!) Instagram followers.
Bale, a former soccer player from Wales (he retired last month), made his AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am debut Thursday at Spyglass Hill. And the spectators absolutely noticed — as did Joseph Bramlett, the PGA Tour pro (and Stanford alum) who played alongside Bale.
“He’s got such an enormous following and he’s had such an enormous impact on people around the world,” Bramlett said. “He’s the face of Wales, in many ways. I really admire the way he carries himself, for someone to be that influential and not walk around like they are all that.”
Bale and Bramlett share an agent (Matt Reilly), which is how they came to know each other in the past year, mostly via FaceTime. Bramlett said Bale has become a bit of a mentor to him.
Bale, 33, knows what he’s doing with a golf club in his hand — he’s playing to a 2-handicap this week — but he still fought some nerves Thursday. Yes, even though he routinely performed in front of jam-packed soccer stadiums.
“Even though we’re used to playing in front of 80,000 or more live on TV, I think every amateur (golfer) will tell you it’s a completely different sport,” Bale said. “It’s outside your comfort zone … but a cool experience.”
Bramlett and Bale teamed to shoot 7-under-par 65 in the proam competition, putting them in
a tie for 18th.
Rodgers dismisses 49ers: Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was getting ready to tee off in the charity hole-in-one challenge, when CBS golf reporter Colt Knost half-jokingly asked him if he had any news to share.
“I’m not going to San Fran,” Rodgers said, smiling.
So much for any chance of the 49ers trading for him.
Rodgers made the quip Wednesday at Peter Hay, the ninehole course at Pebble Beach, but the video didn’t widely circulate online until Thursday. Rodgers and his pro partner, Ben Silverman, shot 62 at Spyglass and are tied for third in the pro-am competition.
Lebioda leads: Hank Lebioda, a 29-year-old from Orlando seeking his first PGA Tour win, shot 8-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula to take the first-round lead.
Lebioda made nine birdies and one bogey on the Shore Course.
Chico native Kurt Kitayama is among those one stroke back at 7-under. The group at 6-under includes Martin Trainer, who grew up in Palo Alto and lives in San Francisco.
Jordan Spieth and reigning U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick each shot 1-under 71, and Viktor Hovland posted 70. All three played at Spyglass. Briefly: Ryan Palmer holed out from the fairway for a rare eagle on No. 4 at Spyglass. That’s a difficult, blind approach shot to a narrow, hourglass-shaped green. … Justin Suh, a tour pro who grew up in San Jose, withdrew because of a shoulder injury.