Gareth Bale needed to deploy a little-known golf rule in a weekend competition after a dog hilariously ran onto the course and stole his ball.

The Tottenham and Real Madrid legend has been hitting the courses since retiring from football at the age of 33 in January last year and has competed in several tournaments.

His infamous 'Wales, golf, Madrid' flag that previously angered Madrid supporters is now taking on a more literal meaning as Bale continues to make the most of retirement, but was left aghast after the intervention of a furry four-legged intruder.

Bale had to overcome the imposter when competing in the Pro-Am portion of the DP World Tour event at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday after a shot had put him within inches of the hole.

Chipping from the edge of the 16th green, Bale - playing alongside professional golfer Dan Brown - produced a brilliant shot that would have set him up for an easy putt.

After gaining applause from spectators for his impressive effort, Bale was about to walk to his ball before a dog sprinted from out of nowhere and ran onto the green.

Desperate cries of 'no' could be heard from the crowd as the dog approached Bale's ball, sniffing around momentarily and then hilarious picking it up with its mouth.

The intruder then sprinted back in the direction of Bale who was reprieved by the use of a rule that is put in place to cover such a situation.

As per rule 9.6 in the USGA's handbook: 'If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence (including another player in stroke play or another ball) lifted or moved a player's ball at rest, there is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated).' 

Fortunately, Bale and his partner were able to recover from the incident and finished the round 19-under-par.

The majority of onlookers were left in stitches online as some comically called for dogs to be allowed at more future tournaments, with one post on X stating: 'You can hear the owners clearly mortified their good boy having fun. Love puppies on the courses.'

Another similar dog lover hilariously added: 'Least he brought it back - good dog.'