Djokovic is about to play golf with Shevchenko, Bale
All-Star Match is a friendly match gathering sports stars and celebrities, taking place before the 2023 Ryder Cup - the 44th match between the American and European professional golf teams.
According to the announcement from the Organizing Committee on September 6, Djokovic joined "Team Monty", led and participated in by famous player Colin Montgomerie. Djokovic's teammates include former football star Gareth Bale, Leonardo Fioravanti (surfing), Kipp Popert (G4D handicap golf), Garrett Hilbert (performance golf).
The opponent of "Team Monty" is "Team Pavin" whose captain is also famous golfer Corey Pavin, and members include F1 driver Carlos Sainz, Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko, former American baseball player Victor Cruz , disabled golfer Tomasso Perrino and Hollywood actress Kathryn Newton.
The All-Star Match program will feature three pit matches. "I can't wait to tee it up in Rome. Hopefully Kipp and I will get points for the home team," the match list announcement quoted Djokovic as saying. Tonight, September 8, he will meet Ben Shelton in the semifinals of the US Open 2023.
The two upcoming "All-Star Match" captains met each other in the leadership role at the 2010 Ryder Cup. At that time, Montgomerie led the European team to beat Pavin's American side with a score of 14.5-13.5. The Ryder Cup, founded in 1927, is recognized by the golf world as the most attractive professional team tournament in the world. The 2021 match in Wisconsin recorded host America's overwhelming 19-9 victory over Europe.
This All-Star Match pairing table shows that Djokovic-Popert will play against Carlos Sainz (Ferrari F1 racing) - Tomasso Perrino (G4D) while Bale and captain Montgomerie will face Pavin - Andriy Shevchenko. In his football career, Shevchenko reached his peak in AC Milan, playing 208 matches from 1999-2006 and setting a record of 127 goals in club history. As for Bale, the former Wales striker retired earlier this year. In the summer of 2022, he left Real Madrid, went to the US to play for Los Angeles FC and helped this team win the MLS professional tournament.
Bale is famous for his "addiction" to golf. During his time at Real, he was spotted playing golf while the home team played, even though he was sidelined in that match due to injury.
When Bale was playing for Tottenham, the team had to build a putting and chip practice area for him to practice his ability to handle golf balls at close range. Behind his home, Bale also hired experts to make "copies" of three world-famous par3 holes, including the oasis-shaped hole 17 of the TPC Sawgrass course in Atlanta, USA and hole 8, nicknamed "postage stamp" because of its green surface. Small and dangerous at Royal Troon, Scotland.
Attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Bale was banned from going out to play golf by coach Rob Page, but he and his teammates still maintained their passion using a golf simulator in the hotel.
