The Caitlin Clark magic is not limited to just the WNBA Basketball courts! The 22-year-old phenom recently played at the ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge’s Pro-Am with Nelly Korda and the legendary golfer herself, Annika Sorenstam. After the pro-am concluded, the 14-time LPGA Tour winner was in awe of the impact Clark has on the women’s sport. She saw firsthand how much she was engaging with the fans and nice with them.

Korda noted that she had never watched basketball before Clark and said, “How amazing of an influence she is just for sports was really cool to see firsthand today.” A day later, it was shown just how popular Clark was. Sports Business Journal writer, Josh Carpenter reported on X that more than 2,500 fans turned up at the Pelican Golf Club to watch Clark play. Although it is nowhere near to the millions Clark draws for her games on ESPN, for the LPGA Tour, it is still a lot.

Surprisingly, it was 10x more than the audience’s attendance in the 2023 season. With just one move, the LPGA Tour could solve the issue of low viewership of women’s golf games, even if it was for just a day. Although it was good, it may pressure Nelly Korda and others to pull a similar performance for the LPGA Tour. Hopefully, one day, the fans will love Korda or someone else as much to watch their games in big numbers too.

When Korda won four consecutive events on the LPGA Tour, Lilia Vu regarded her as the ‘Caitlin Clark’ for the women’s circuit. Despite clinching more victories after that, the 14-time LPGA Tour winner could not come close to Clark’s aura and have any significant effect on the LPGA Tour’s viewership.

The pressure is on Nelly Korda but she might not be ready

Before winning the Chevron Championship in April, the American Team’s Solheim Cup captain, Stacy Lewis talked about the responsibility put on Nelly Korda’s shoulder. Lewis has always been an advocate for growing women’s sports and asking for better coverage for their games.

She agreed about Korda being what Clark is for WNBA and said, “I think Nelly does have a responsibility [to promote the LPGA], and she probably doesn’t always want it, just knowing her.” On the other hand, Korda talked about this uninvited responsibility and instead of changing her ways for better visibility of her game and the entire women’s sport, she pushed the idea of being herself.

She added, “I feel like for me, the way that I promote the game is just the way I am. I’m very true to myself. I’m never going to do something I’m not really comfortable with.” This idea has not really worked for the LPGA Tour as after her six victories, Korda faltered and missed three consecutive cuts. The popularity she gained by being deemed as the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour or Caitlin Clark has been lost a bit. For Nelly Korda and the LPGA Tour, it isn’t always possible to have Clark on board. So they have to find a better and new way to grow the LPGA Tour to the next level.