The LPGA Tour season is about to wrap up! The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican tees off on November 14, 2024, leading up to the grand finale at the CME Group Tour Championship. This is the second time that legend Annika Sorenstam is hosting the event. We will have sensational players like Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Lilia Vu, and others eyeing the $3.25 million purse. Not only are the 4 days of competition going to be exciting, but the Pro-AM of this one is going to be stunning. All thanks to the WNBA star, Caitlin Clark. 

She appeared at a PGA Tour Pro-AM at the 2023 John Deere Classic, but her appearance this time is more significant. She will be supporting the Women’s Leadership Summit on Tuesday and then hitting balls on Wednesday. So, what made her accept the invitation? First her love for golf, and second, it’s an honor for her.

“Well, first of all, I love golf and being around it. I think it’s so cool and special and I grew up playing golf. Obviously Annika, a legend in this game. Like for me this is just fun. It’s cool,” said Clark in a Tuesday press conference at Pelican Golf Club. She then clarified that encouraging women sports isn’t just a job to her, instead, “This is an honor.” Clark is really excited to be there and be a part of it all.

“I just feel very fortunate. When they asked me to come down here, I was like, yeah, I can get away from the Indianapolis cold. I get to play golf with some of the best. This is amazing. Sign me up,” continued Clark. Saying yes to joining Annika Sorenstam at the Women’s Leadership Summit was a no-brainer for Clark. Why wouldn’t it be? She gets a chance to rub shoulders with golf legends as she is paired up with Sorenstam and Korda for the Pro-Am. But, it was also deeply personal.

“I love golf and being around it. I think it’s so cool and special and I grew up playing golf,”  she said. She has been playing golf since she was 6. Time and again she has mentioned that she likes it too as it was part of off-season plans, “Maybe play some golf. That’s what I’m gonna do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. So I got that. I’ll become a professional golfer,” she said some time ago.

Well, with a handicap of +10, fans can expect some exciting shots from her. Clark will tee off at 7 a.m. EDT Wednesday, playing the first nine holes with Korda and the back nine with Sorenstam.

Caitlin Clark is a woman with many talents

In the same interview, she shed light on her love for basketball. As an athlete, at times, one hopes to get a break from the sport they play daily but not Clark, “People think basketball is a job. No. I feel like I should find a job in the off-season. I get to play basketball every single day and I know there is a lot of people that would kill to do that.” 

It’s the determined perspective she brings to basketball too. The 22-year-old star led her Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA championship game before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever. She finished her debut season seventh in scoring, topping the league in both assists and three-pointers made, ultimately earning the Rookie of the Year title. Impressive, right?

Well, Clark’s talents stretch beyond golf and basketball. A little-known fact: she was a skilled soccer player in her youth, even earning First-Team All-State as a freshman with 26 goals in six games. “In high school, I played soccer and I was on varsity and I loved it. But my teammates would get mad because I would go and practice and work out and do basketball after school right before we had our soccer games and they couldn’t believe that I was doing that. So I eventually had to give up soccer even though I loved it.” Her father and former coach believed she could have made as big an impact in soccer as she has in basketball. But fate had other plans, and today she’s a renowned basketball star.

And now, it would be interesting to see her swinging the clubs in greens. What do you think, will she make her mark on the golf course too? Let us know in the comments.