“I’ll become a professional golfer,” Caitlin Clark humorously said after the Indiana Fever ended their playoff journey in Round 1. Who knew she would be this serious?! Always finding an escape on the greens, the Rookie of the Year has committed herself to the upcoming Pro-Am, the Annika. Not only will she be playing with top-class names in the sport, including Annika Sorenstam herself and Nelly Korda, but the Fever No. 22 will take a much-needed break from basketball while still staying active. Now the question is, if her competitive nature takes over and she wins, will Clark receive a monetary prize?

For “The ANNIKA” driven by the Gainbridge tournament, the Fever guard will team up with two golf greats. The Pro-Am part of it means the amateur will tee off with a professional, and Clark gets two! The front nine will be played with World No.1 Nelly Korda and the back nine with the host herself. But sadly, even if the competitive hooper wins, CC will not receive any of the $3.25 million prize money. Why? Because she’s a celebrity.

According to the Annika website, there will be a $3.25 million purse shared between the winning participants. This is one of the highest amounts that the LPGA Tour has summed up. Back in 2022, the prize purse was $2 million, with the winner receiving $300,000, according to LPGA’s 15% payout pattern.

This year, similar to last year, the purse is at $3.25 million. This means the winner will get $487,500. However, no celebrities participating in the event claim the winnings. Plus there is the question of her defeating defending champion and World No. 2 Lilia Vu.

The Iowa sensation, who has been golfing since she was a kid, will take part in her second Pro-Am, after taking part in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am in 2023 as a Hawkeye. Then, just after her disappointing loss to Angel Reese’s LSU in the Finals, Clark was at the TPC Deere Run for a break from basketball, similar to how she’s spending her W offseason this year. While it began as something “to get away from the gym,” as her coaches told her to do, sports could not be given up altogether.

“You can clear your mind, do something you really love, and have the peace and quiet of just your friends around or even just yourself,” Clark told Golf Digest last year. “I love being able to escape reality for a little bit.”

And as if she were Tiger Woods, fans love following her on the greens too! The TPC Deere Run golf course had a huge gallery following No. 22 last year, probably thanks to its proximity to Des Moines. But this year, given the odd timings of her game, some fans might be able to catch her on television.

Caitlin Clark fans’ angry emails actually produced results

The Pro-Am event begins the day after Caitlin Clark will tee it up, aka Nov. 14. She will be on the course at 7 AM on a Wednesday with her round originally not planned to be broadcasted for fans who couldn’t make it to the Pelican Golf Club in the middle of a work week. Meaning a majority of Clark’s fanbase. So they took to personally reaching out to the LPGA in hordes, and the LPGA responded.

Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported last week that along with the official tournament social channels, the LPGA will now live-stream Clark’s range warmup. Additionally, an in-round walk-and-talk interview, a 90-minute early airing of ‘Golf Today’ (11 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, Nov. 13 will also take place.

Looks like the Caitlin Clark effect has gone beyond basketball yet again! A large audience might anyway be present the previous day, when the Indiana star takes part in the Women’s Leadership Summit panel and they’ll get to see their favorite with with a golf club, rubbing elbows with Annika Sorenstam and Nelly Korda!