Watch: Rory McIlroy approves Gareth Bale’s opening drive at the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am

Rory McIlroy paired up with former footballer Gareth Bale at the 2023 BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am tournament, which was held on Wednesday morning. The Northern Irish golfer watched Bale taking his shot during the Pro-Am event and was impressed with his long drive.

Gareth Bale is an enthusiastic golfer. He often practices golf and has been trying to improve his game. The DP World Tour shared a video of the Bale's shot with a caption saying:

"Rory approves@GarethBale11’s opening drive 👌#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries."

In the clip, Bale was hitting the ball while McIlroy was watching him playing. The Northern Irish golfer later appreciated him approving his shot.

McIlroy has struggled with his game at last week's Irish Open. He will be looking forward to improving his game this week and having a good finish ahead of the Ryder Cup.

The four-time Major champion will pair with his European Ryder Cup teammates for the first two rounds of the BMW PGA Championship.

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Can Rory McIlroy win the 2023 BMW PGA Championship?

McIlroy had injured his back ahead of the Tour Championship last month but still competed at the tournament and finished in fourth place. He also played at the Irish Open last week and tied for 16th place.

Rory McIlroy will be looking for a victory ahead of the Ryder Cup and is one of the expert's favourites to win the trophy this week. According to GNN, his odds to win the 2023 BMW PGA Championship are 700.

The tournament features a stellar field of some of the top-ranked golfers in the world including Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood.

Here are the odds for the 2023 BMW PGA Championship (as per GNN):

• Rory McIlroy - 700
• Viktor Hovland - 750
• Jon Rahm - 850
• Matt Fitzpatrick - 1800
• Tommy Fleetwood - 1800
• Shane Lowry - 2000
• Tyrrell Hatton - 2000
• Ludvig Aberg - 2500
• Tom Kim - 2500
• Min Woo Lee - 2800
• Adam Scott - 3500
• Billy Horschel - 3500
• Justin Rose - 3500
• Adrian Meronk - 4000
• Vincent Norrman - 4000
• Nicolai Hojgaard - 4500
• Sepp Straka - 4500
• Ryan Fox - 5000
• Aaron Rai - 5500
• Alexander Bjork - 6000
• Jordan Smith - 6000
• Thomas Detry - 6000
• Robert MacIntyre - 6500
• Matt Wallace - 9000
• Rasmus Hojgaard - 9000
• Thorbjorn Olesen - 9000
• Victor Perez - 9000
• Yannik Paul - 9000
• Antoine Rozner - 10000
• Tom Hoge - 10000
• Connor Syme - 11000
• Guido Migliozzi - 11000
• Joost Luiten - 11000
• Padraig Harrington - 11000
• Romain Langasque - 11000
• Adrian Otaegui - 13500
• Calum Hill - 13500
• Grant Forrest - 13500
• Maximilian Kieffer - 13500
• Niklas Norgaard Mller - 13500
• Shubhankar Sharma - 13500