Gary Lineker has stopped playing golf due to his arthritis.
The 59-year-old TV presenter is a keen golfer and presented the BBC’s golf coverage from 2005 to 2010, but he has now been forced to give up the beloved sport as his arthritis has stopped him from holding a club.
He told the ‘Rain Delay’ podcast: "I don’t play any more because actually my fingers are so arthritic I can’t even hold a club. I don’t play but I have kept that membership."
The ‘Match of the Day’ host previously played at the exclusive Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, but his condition has now limited him to watching the game.
Asked if he would ever play again, he replied: "Only watching."
The former England football captain ended his career in 1994 after suffering a toe injury, and fell in love with golf despite feeling "hopeless" from long range.
He explained: "I had to work very hard at it. I loved golf. If I do something I want to do it as well as I can. It used to frustrate me though so much, golf.
"My golf was a bit like my football, I always felt. I was hopeless from long range but once I got close in I was quite good."
What’s more, the sport brought out "the worst" side of Gary as he often got wound up when things wouldn’t go his way, and would walk off the golf course in a strop.
He added: "It’s a great game, golf, but I found it hugely frustrating. I will tell you something about golf, it brings out the worst in you.
"There have been so many times I would walk off a golf course and think, ‘God, you behaved a bit like a prat today, get a grip’."
Gary Lineker forced to quit golf due to arthritis
