Which Celebrities Are Playing The 2023 BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am?

The DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, features many of the world's best players, including all 12 of the European Ryder Cup team.

Before the main action gets underway, though, the tournament’s celebrity pro-am takes place, with familiar faces from the worlds of sport and entertainment in the field.

Here are some of the biggest names taking part in this year’s event.

Gareth Bale

The former Real Madrid soccer star is a huge golf fan and even has replicas of his favourite three holes in his garden in Wales. It’s hardly surprising, then, that since retiring from soccer at the start of the year, he’s been devoting plenty of his spare time to golf.

That included an appearance in the pro-am before January’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he teed it up alongside Jon Rahm, who said Bale “has no business being that good golf.” The following month, Bale played in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while he is also in the field for the Ryder Cup Celebrity All-Star Match later in the month.

Tom Holland

Spider-Man star Holland is a Hollywood A-lister, but away from acting he is a keen golfer. In 2021, the Englishman told The Hollywood Reporter what the game meant to him. He said: “Playing golf is what I do. I’m addicted to golf, and had I not been addicted to golf, I would have had a very different career. It’s a nice way to disconnect from what’s going on around you.”

Holland will be joined in the celebrity pro-am by his brothers, twins Sam, a budding chef, and fellow actor Harry.

Kathryn Newton

The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star is an accomplished golfer who was part of a Notre Dame High School team that won three championships before she made a name for herself on the big screen.

Like Bale, she is also appearing in the Ryder Cup Celebrity All-Star Match, but before that she takes on the West Course at Wentworth. She is also an official ambassador of The R&A.

Newton's favourite golf course is The Old Course at St Andrews, and she has said of it: “The Old Course is my favourite because of the history and the setting. I feel like I finally know what it is to play golf after playing there."

Stuart Broad

The recently retired England cricket all-rounder finished his international career in style, taking the wicket that squared the Ashes series against Australia with his final delivery. Before that, along with other members of the team, Broad played several rounds of golf in preparation for the series. 

Broad is not the only player who took on Australia who will be appearing in the celebrity pro-am, either. Captain Ben Stokes has appeared previously and has been slated to play. Fast bowler James Anderson and batsman Harry Brook also participate. Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss appears too.

John Terry

The former Chelsea and England soccer star is no stranger to a golf course, and completed the goal of becoming a scratch handicap in 2022. 

Later that year, he also met Tiger Woods on a ‘bucket list’ trip to Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill and Cypress Point for the Tiger Woods Invitational. 

Terry is also a member of Wentworth, so he will be confident of a strong performance on a course he is familiar with.

Mia Baker

The social media sensation has become a golf influencer just a few years after taking up the game thanks to her success in documenting her golf journey via platforms including YouTube, Tik Tok and Instagram.

Baker has previously said she wants to empower male golfers to invite more women to take up the game and would like to inspire more people to take it up.

AP McCoy

McCoy had a hugely successful career as a jockey, and became the first from the sport to be named BBC Sports Personality of the year in 2010. He also received a knighthood for his services to horse racing in 2016.

Now retired, he spends much of his free time on the golf course and has said his favourite course is the Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

Theo Walcott

Walcott's soccer career included 563 club appearances for Southampton, Arsenal and Everton, while he also made 47 appearances for England. He announced his retirement from the game in August, but will be back in the spotlight again at Wentworth as he demonstrates his golf abilities. 

Walcott has a long-standing love of the game and even played in the celebrity pro-am as far back as 2013. With more time on his hands post-retirement, is likely to devote more of his time to it. He also counts Wentworth as his favourite course.  

As well as Walcott and John Terry, Jermaine Jenas is another former England soccer star in the field.

Iona Stephen

The broadcaster took up the game while at university before turning pro in 2016 and making her debut in the Qatar Ladies Open on the LET the same year.

In 2020, she joined the commentary team at Sky Sports Golf and in 2021, she was part of the BBC Golf Commentary team for The Masters.

She remains a big proponent of the women’s game and, in 2022, told Golf Monthly’s Mark Townsend: “I do believe that in the next five years, if I’m being bold, or 10 if I’m being realistic, we will see that The Open and the Women’s Open will provide an equal prize fund for men and women.”

Peter Finch

The Golf Monthly Top 50 coach has built a stellar reputation for his popular YouTube channel offering golf tips, advice and drills, and he will be showcasing his abilities on Wentworth’s famous West Course. 

Other golf influencers, including Mac Boucher, the Shee Sisters and Seb Carmichael-Brown, also play.

Anton Du Beke

The ballroom dancer and Strictly Come Dancing judge boasts a handicap of five and will surely fancy his chances of a good performance in the celebrity pro-am as he’s a member at Wentworth.

Earlier in the year, the 57-year-old also hosted the Anton Du Beke Golf Day in aid of The Sick Children’s Trust.

BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am Tee Times

8.00am BST shotgun start

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