By: Max Bechtoldt
The crowds looked more like a major championship Sunday than a Wednesday pro-am as WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark paired up with Nelly Korda and Annika Sörenstam at The Annika presented by Gainbridge.
The 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, who has taken the sports world by storm, showed off a bit of game on the links. Despite having some early round struggles, she hit some terrific shots throughout.
At Pelican Golf Club in Bellaire, Florida, Clark was ripping drives throughout much of her swift four-hour round. On the fifth she holed a long par putt that was probably the moment of the round. On the 18th, after an approach shot that sailed long of the green, she had a terrible putt, but, she responded like all great athletes do. She came back with a terrific lag up within five feet of the hole, a fitting way to end her round.
While the jerseys sporting her number 22 were out in the colors of both the Indiana Fever and Iowa Hawkeyes, the shot of the day might have been of Clark’s Titleist 22 that she was playing.
It wasn’t just the fans who were eager to see Clark up close. On the 18th hole alone, the cameras captured LPGA players Maria Fassi, Ally Ewing, Ryann O’Toole and Angel Yin stopping to talk and take pictures with her.
“To see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see first hand today” said Korda after the round.
Clark returned the favor saying she has followed Korda for a while, and that she was having a great time seeing her up close in person and how she does things.
When asked if she was learning anything from Korda, Clark said simply.
“No… Golf is hard.”
About the Author
