A dog managed to do what many of football’s greatest defenders never could – steal the ball off Gareth Bale. The former Wales international looked on in disbelief at the Dunhill Links as a puppy sprinted on to the green, before picking up his Titleist and hotfooting it back down the fairway with its owners yelling.
Bale is playing in the DP World Tour event which pitches in amateurs alongside the pros. The 35-year-old was on the famous Carnoustie links – which along with St Andrews and Kingsbarns stages the $5 million (£3.8 million) tournament – and had just played a commendable chip from a bank, which rolled 10 feet past the pin.
This is when the pooch entered the scene, taking the opportunity to go viral across the internet. Woof, and the mutt was gone. Bale is an accomplished golfer who plays off scratch and, as such, would have known that the rules allowed him to replace the ball at the spot where the Lassie-like larceny was committed.
While the group, which also featured Jamie Redknapp, were in hysterics, this was serious business. Bale and partner Daniel Brown, the Yorkshireman who made a name for himself at the Open in July when leading after the first round, are in contention to win the main prize.
In the professional event that truly matters, there was also a rare sighting. Nicolas Colsaerts became the first Tour player to record two albatrosses in his career. The Belgian, who appeared at the 2012 Ryder Cup, flew his approach over the pin on the par-five 16th at Kingsbarns and it pitched on the upslope before rolling back into the hole.
Colsaerts did not realise for a few seconds that he had leapt from 17-under to 20-under in just two swipers but was soon celebrating with his partner Ari Emanuel, the chief executive of IMG. However, two holes later, he double-bogeyed the 18th. His first Tour albatross came at the Portugal Masters six years ago.