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Former Wales captain Gareth Bale to play in Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament

Former Wales captain Gareth Bale has said he will play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf event in February, after announcing his retirement from professional football earlier this month.

Bale, 33, will play alongside professionals and other celebrities in the event starting on Feb. 2 in California.

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He said in an Instagram post: "Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month! Let's go."

The former Real Madrid forward is renowned for his love of golf. During his time at the Bernabeu, he received backlash from his own supporters after posing with a banner which read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."

Participants for the tournament include actor Bill Murray and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the celebrities section and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and world No. 5 Patrick Cantlay on the professionals side.

Bale announced his retirement from football earlier in January. He won 22 trophies in his career including five Champions League titles with Madrid and the MLS cup with Los Angeles FC.