When asked about his debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am, Gareth Bale admitted he was nervous

The 33-year-old, who retired from football last month, is a two-handicapper whose passion for golf was widely known during his time with the LaLiga giants.

But he, too, felt the weight of expectation as he teed off at the Spyglass Hill course in his first PGA Tour event.

I think any newbie would agree with you on that. “It’s a whole other sport, even though we’re used to playing in front of 80,000 people or more on live TV,” he stated after his round.

“It was a valuable learning experience, and to top it off, I made a birdie on the first hole!”

On the second hole, he made an even better par save by chipping the ball up to within three feet from the cart path beside the green.

“I am more worried how I was there in the first place, but I guess a lot of amateurs find themselves out of position,” Bale said.

“I knew it was a good shot, but like most amateurs, I was simply trying to play it into the bank and hope for the best. It was a pleasant sight to see it come so near.

Joseph Bramlett, my playing partner, said, “He was pretty much in for par, so I was like, ‘I’ll pick it up,’ but he made me putt it as he was like, ‘It will be one of the greatest up and downs.'”

Bale and Bramlett’s final score was 65, seven strokes under par.