A dog managed to do what many of football’s greatest defenders could never do: steal the ball from Gareth Bale. The former Wales international looked in disbelief at the Dunhill Links as a puppy sprinted onto the green, before picking up his Titleist and hurling it back across the fairway with its owners screaming.
Bale plays in the DP World Tour event, which features amateurs in addition to the pros. The 35-year-old was sitting on the famous Carnoustie links – which, along with St Andrews and Kingsbarns, hosts the $5m (£3.8m) tournament – and had just played a commendable chip off a bench, which went three yards beyond the pin rolled.
This is when the dog entered the scene and took the opportunity to go viral across the internet. Woof, and the mutt was gone. Bale is an experienced golfer who plays from scratch and as such would have known that the rules allowed him to place the ball back where the Lassie-like theft was committed.
While the group, which also featured Jamie Redknapp, was hysterical, this was serious business. Bale and partner Daniel Brown, the Yorkshireman who made his name at the Open in July when he led after the first round, are in contention for the top prize.
At the professional event that really matters, there was also a rare sighting. Nicolas Colsaerts became the first Tour player to register two albatrosses in his career. The Belgian, who competed in the 2012 Ryder Cup, flew his approach over the pin at the par-five 16th at Kingsbarns and threw onto the upslope before rolling back into the hole.
Colsaerts didn’t realize for several seconds that he had jumped from 17 under to 20 under in just two swipes, but was soon celebrating with his partner Ari Emanuel, the CEO of IMG. Two holes later, however, he made a double bogey on the 18th. His first Tour Albatross came six years ago at the Portuguese Masters.
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