‘This is the end of the world’ – Gary Lineker opens up on health condition that forced him to give up favourite hobby
GARY LINEKER has opened up about his struggles with arthritis – which has forced him to give up golf.
The presenter was a regular on the greens and he still enjoys watching the pros.
But after a flare up of arthritis in lockdown he quit the sport because he could no longer hold a club.
Lineker, 64, has opened up on his decision to quit golf, revealing he does not miss playing as much as he thought he would.
He said on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips: “No, I don’t, no. My finger is a bit arthritic.
“I hurt my wrist hitting a root, and it damaged it. I couldn’t play for six months.
“I was like, ‘Oh, this is the end of the world. Then, a month later, I’m thinking ‘I don’t miss it at all.
“I loved it – but I didn’t really like myself on the golf course. I used to big myself up quite a lot and get miserable all the time.
“When I went back to playing, I was struggling, and after three hours, I was thinking, ‘God, I’ve got another four-and-a-half hours of this!’ So I just stopped, and I actually don’t miss it. It’s really weird.”
Lineker presented the BBC’s coverage of golf’s majors from 2005 to 2010 and played off a handicap of four.
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Now he spends his time watching and last week shared his excitement of The Masters.
He said: “This time of year is great, but the Masters is special, isn’t it? I actually always put it in my diary, put it in, the four nights so I don’t make them [busy] because I’ve done that in the past.
“When you suddenly go, ‘I booked dinner on Sunday night, oh my god, it’s Masters Sunday.'”