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Sometimes we think in watertight compartments, we put champions in a sealed cube and we don't realize that before being phenomenal in their sport, they are athletes of a higher level. Coordination, speed of execution, vision, timing and much more.
Here then - when you dig - you discover that many talents are also very good in other sports, not only in what made them rich and famous. This is the case of Pau Gasol, who at the Pebble Beach Pro Am, a golf tournament taking place on the enchanting northern Californian course, tore up one who had shown in the past that he was really good with the club, Gareth Bale.
The event sees some of golf's big names, from Matt Fitzpatrick to Viktor Hovland, from Justin Rose to Jordan Spieth, play alongside personalities from sport, cinema and entertainment.
Pau Gasol, results
The former basketball star with Lakers, Barcelona and the Spanish national team, who competes with Mark Hubbard, left everyone speechless with his skill, placing himself in the top 10 of the tournament for now, with the third day finished prematurely due to bad weather conditions.
Peter Malnati leads the provisional standings. For him 6 shots earned in just 12 holes, which allowed him to bring his score to -12. But the great protagonist of the day, in addition to the very strong wind, was the Catalan.
Gasol has also clearly overtaken Bale, who the help of his teammate, Joseph Bramlett, has lost positions in the standings, finishing in 16th place. The tournament will resume today, and will end on Monday, with only the professionals competing.
Before the stop in the lead among the amateurs (who are limited to 54 holes instead of the regular 72 of the pros) at -25 was Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, paired with Canadian Ben Silverman. And given that Silverman limited himself to a +2, it was the NFL superstar who dragged the duo, who has a handicap of 10.
"It's a sport that keeps you grounded - said Gasol, 42, who had never held a golf club in his hands when he played basketball - If I want to improve, be more competitive, I have to train constantly. In This transitional moment in my life is exactly what I need." "I've seen him play basketball and so I know he has excellent hands-said Hubbard-The thing that surprised me about him is his swing, the clubs are almost as tall as him but he has great coordination and control".