Bale Becomes Playable Character in Golf Video Game

Golf - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship - Wentworth, Virginia Water, Britain - September 14, 2023 Former footballer Gareth Bale is seen during the first round Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/file photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Golf - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship - Wentworth, Virginia Water, Britain - September 14, 2023 Former footballer Gareth Bale is seen during the first round Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/file photo Acquire Licensing Rights
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Bale Becomes Playable Character in Golf Video Game

Golf - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship - Wentworth, Virginia Water, Britain - September 14, 2023 Former footballer Gareth Bale is seen during the first round Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/file photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Golf - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship - Wentworth, Virginia Water, Britain - September 14, 2023 Former footballer Gareth Bale is seen during the first round Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/file photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Gareth Bale's love for golf has been well-documented and the former Real Madrid and Wales forward has swapped the pitch for the green after becoming a playable character in the PGA Tour 2K23 video game.

Bale, 34, made his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February after calling time on his glittering soccer career at the start of the year. He also teed off alongside Rory McIlroy at this week's BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am.

His passion for the sport often led to criticism while he was in Madrid, especially in 2019 after he celebrated with a Welsh flag which read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."

The former Wales captain, who featured on the cover of Electronic Arts' FIFA 14 video game alongside Lionel Messi, has now been added to PGA Tour 2K23, which includes a course custom-designed by him.

"I'm Gareth Bale. I'm here getting scanned in PGA Tour 2K23," he said in a video shared on social media, Reuters reported

Bale played for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur before joining Real in 2013 for a then-world record deal worth 100 million euros ($106.55 million), where he won five Champions League titles among several other major honours.

He led Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals and to their first World Cup since 1958 at last year's tournament in Qatar. Bale's tally of 111 caps and 41 international goals are both records for the Wales men's team.



South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

 Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

 Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea - in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea's vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," it said.

South Korea's National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games' organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.