‘Yuck! Just yucky,’ a disgruntled Caitlin Clark declared from the driving range of the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida on Wednesday morning.
The blunt verdict of her golf shot sent her WNBA teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull into a fit of laughter, the pair’s giggles cutting through the hushed silence blanketing the golf course.
Cunningham, noticing the contrast between their carefree attitude and the studious concentration of the LPGA professionals alongside them, turned to Hull and asked: ‘Who invited us? Why are we here?’
The answer to that last question stood about 10 feet behind the gaggle of basketball stars.
Crammed against the ropes, a throng of spectators trailed after Clark’s every move. They were the reason Clark and her Indiana Fever sidekicks were invited to the LPGA’s The ANNIKA Pro-Am – and they certainly didn’t care how ‘yucky’ the WNBA icon’s golf shots were.
The Caitlin Clark show had rolled into town once again and after months of sporting anonymity, the spotlight was brighter than ever.
Caitlin Clark (R) is pictured with Lexie Hull (L) and Sophie Cunningham at The ANNIKA
Hundreds of spectators turned out to watch the WNA star compete in the Pro-Am
For a second straight year Clark, the 2024 WNBA No 1 Draft pick, teed it up in the Pro-Am event ahead of The ANNIKA tournament. And for a second straight year, her fans took over Pelican Golf Club.
The stream of fans taking in her warmup on the driving range was nothing compared to the tsunami of pleas of autographs and photos awaiting her on the first tee.
Golf is a sport known for its strict dress codes. On Wednesday though, there was only one uniform; Fever Jerseys; head-to-toe Iowa yellow and black; handmade t-shirts professing their love.
One man held up a t-shirt reading, ‘I don’t know about you but I’m feeling 22’ – a nod to Clark’s jersey number and the lyrics of her favorite pop star, Taylor Swift. And as she strutted onto the tee box, Clark held almost as much star power as the 14-time Grammy winner.
The hundreds-strong bustling crowd had risen at the crack of dawn to secure their front-rope spot. They stood five deep armed with their cell phones and frenzied with anticipation of catching a glimpse of their beloved superstar. Their only obstacle? The entourage of jostling media members, sponsor ambassadors and tournament organizers just as eager to clamor after Clark.
Cameras whirred for around 15 minutes – well past her allotted 8:30am tee time – as Clark stood patiently smiling for every flash.
Golf legend and tournament host Annika Sorenstam and Clark’s professional playing partners Nelly Korda and sponsor exemption Lauryn Nguyen posed alongside her.
Cunningham and Hull, along with fellow celebrity caddies NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar and US soccer icon Briana Scurry were summoned as the photographers worked through multiple different combinations.
Clark is pictured with event host Annika Sorenstam and defending champion Nelly Korda
Hoards of media members and tournament organizers swarmed the first tee box
The only consistent in every shot was Clark. Afterall, she was the main attraction.
‘I think that’s just a really special thing. That even though this isn’t my main sport, I’m not that great at it, people still love the opportunity to be out here and support you. They get to know all these other golfers as well and they continue to follow them,’ Clark reflected following her round.
‘They come and stay for the weekend and they support these women. I think that’s just a really cool and special thing. It’s not anything you ever take for granted.’
Special almost didn’t do the scenes justice. They were Tiger Woods-esque. They rivaled even those of a major championship.
Clark’s appearance this year wasn’t a mere cameo. Following months away, it marked her return to the spotlight.
The hoops star was asked about exchanging the court for the course following her round. Truthfully, she should have been asked the opposite. Afterall, she’s seen more golf balls than she has basketballs in recent months.
Clark, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, played just 13 games of the 2025 season, which saw the Fever fall to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA playoff semifinals. Derailed by injury, Clark’s own season ended on July 15.
The guard made sideline appearances to support her teammates but for four months supporters have been starved of her competitive prowess. Much to the relief of her adoring fans – and the fortune of the LPGA – that drought ended at The ANNIKA.
The Indiana Fever guard signs autographs for clamoring fans before teeing off
Following months of sporting anonymity, the event marked her return to the spotlight
The spectators weren’t alone in relishing Clark’s return. She too was savoring the feeling of having her competitive juices flowing once again.
‘These are the things that you love. Being competitive, and even when I go out and play with family and friends or whoever, like you make it competitive,’ she said when asked about her return to sport.
‘You don’t just go out there and hit the ball. You make a game out of it, you have a 2 v. 2, you do whatever. I think that’s the fun part about golf. Really with anything I do in life I’m pretty competitive, so I probably wouldn’t play golf if I didn’t feel those competitive juices flowing. I think that’s certainly part of it that I love.’
Despite revealing that she is ‘feeling back to 100 percent,’ Clark admitted that she hadn’t been able to finetune her golf game as much as she would have liked with her injury holding her back.
And the rustiness of her game crept through on the first swing of the round. In front of the hoards of spectators horseshoed around the first tee, Clark opened with a slice – the first of many.
Her frustration over her many right misses bubbled over on the eighth. With her tee shot, Clark found the fairway, just the wrong one. Again. She immediately sighed and brought her driver back as if she were going to slam it to the ground.
‘At least you hit it far,’ came the encouragement from Hull. Yet, that wasn’t enough to fix Clark’s woes.
Korda’s coach, Jamie Mulligan, who also nurtures Ryder Cup star Patrick Cantlay’s swing, stepped in to offer Clark some advice. He took hold of the shaft of Clark’s club and began guiding her through her swing.
World No 2 Korda played the first nine holes alongside the basketball icon
Clark celebrated with her Indiana Fever teammate Cunningham during the round
But things didn’t look up for Clark when, on the same hole, her first putt from off the green rolled back down to her feet. She followed that up by hammering her second attempt past the hole and off the other side of the green.
In other words, it was the golf equivalent of an airball followed by a bank shot.
Not that it would have mattered if she had walked off the putting surface the next coming of Tiger Woods himself or a hacking Happy Gilmore. The spectators wouldn’t have cared either way.
Her enthusiasm for the game was infectious. With cheeky digs at her own performance, passionate fist pumps and quips with her teammates over her shots, Clark lit up the masses.
They were left in awe of Clark’s shots as she hacked her way around the course to cheers of ‘From the logo’ and ‘Let’s go 22.’
‘She’s an amateur like us but I think she’s really good,’ one woman was overheard telling her friend. ‘But then again, she can do no wrong in my eyes.’
She could likely do no wrong in the eyes of the LPGA either.
This wasn’t your average Wednesday on the LPGA Tour. Clark’s Pro-Am encore was a round of golf that had the power to inspire a new generation of women’s golf fans.
The masses were left in awe of Clark throughout her round, despite her occasional stray shot
Young girls crowded into the designated autograph section around the 18th green awaiting Clark, Hull and Cunningham.
One held a sign plastered with photos of both Clark and two-time major winner Korda, bearing the message, ‘Go girls!’ It was the crossover that tournament organizers dreamt of when it first invited Clark to compete.
As hoped, the fans may have flocked to Pelican for Clark but they stayed for the LPGA’s best. As she made her way to the first tee, multiple girls in Clark’s No 22 Fever jersey were spotted looking starstruck as they posed for photos. But it wasn’t Clark they had flagged down, it was two-time major winner Korda.
Clark may be a basketball player but her fame goes far beyond the court. Her presence even off the court can lift all of women’s sport, especially when it had been starved of her influence for so many months.
Last year, Clark granted the women’s tour her unrivaled influence. This week, she gifted it so much more: Her long-awaited comeback.
And no amount of ‘yucky’ shots could tarnish the anticipation or frenzy of the fans.
