BELLEAIR, FLORIDA | The sun had yet to awaken in this homespun coastal port along Florida’s mid-Gulf Coast, and fans at the LPGA’s Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican were waiting for Caitlin Clark to show up for work.
Usually, Wednesdays of tournament week represent a quiet and slow day, but already there was a palpable buzz building at Pelican. It was different. Special. Clark made her way from her overnight accommodations next to the clubhouse to the practice tee, where her bag and a caddie awaited. LPGA pros with morning times were lined up hitting balls beneath bright lights that illuminated the area.
It was a fitting setting for Clark’s pro-am debut on the LPGA circuit. Beneath the brightest spotlight is precisely where the 22-year-old Clark, a basketball savant, seems to be at her best.
Golf never was the first sport of choice for the WNBA’s freshly minted rookie of the year. That became clear in her youth, when basketball edged ahead as her No. 1 passion. Clark played a bunch of sports, everything she could. Her soccer teammates would wonder why she would leave the field and head directly to the basketball court to shoot, and practice. And then shoot and practice hoops some more.
Obviously, the extra work she put in during her early days in West Des Moines, Iowa, would pay off. By the time Clark left the University of Iowa, the home-state product would lead the Hawkeyes to not one, but two Final Fours, where twice (2023 and ’24) the team lost in the championship game. She departed campus in the spring having set the all-time NCAA Division I record (men or women) for points, finishing with 3,951. Clark was the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. That’s when Indiana came calling.
She and the tournament at Pelican share a sponsor that is forceful behind its mission to grow women’s sports: Gainbridge, an insurance and financial services company based in Zionsville, Indiana. A few months back, that’s when golf came calling.
Given her legend, the only surprising thing about Clark’s arrival at The Annika is that she did not step forth out of a hazy, misty cornfield to get to the first tee. That’s why the fans who gathered, those who lined up five deep to see her strike her opening tee shot, the ones wearing red Indiana Fever and gold Iowa Hawkeyes jerseys adorned with Clark’s famed No. 22, would gather in the dark to watch a 16-handicapper who can shoot in the mid-80s but “prays to break 100” play a little golf.
As moments go, it was as mystical as it was magical.
As much as you want to believe that Caitlin Clark might be some fictional character cut from the made-up Sidd Finch/Sports Illustrated April Fools’ Day mold of yesteryear, those spending time with her at The Annika found her to be, in fact, quite genuine. That’s exactly what the Annika of The Annika fame, the host herself, Sörenstam, found Clark to be. Sörenstam, so shy as a youth that she would intentionally lose golf tournaments to avoid the inevitable winner’s speech which she would be expected to deliver, has morphed from a hard-working golf superstar into a corporate force, steadily building her personal brand. When Clark left Iowa and headed for pro basketball, she conveyed a simple message of gratitude for the Hawkeye faithful: Thanks for always letting me be me.
Basketball fans across the world are enamored with the scrappy, hard-nosed play of Clark. A 50ish couple wearing Fever jerseys at Pelican was asked if they were from Indiana. “No,” said the wife. “We’re from Texas. But we’ve gone to games, and we just love Caitlin Clark.” A few hundred of those fans had gathered at Pelican in their hoop jerseys, holding up signs of gratitude. “We love Caitlin Clark” and “Shoot for Me, Caitlin” some of them read. Here Clark was, the WNBA in its offseason, spending time at a golf tournament, and spreading the gospel of a new game. It was a message that resonated loudly.
“We’ve messaged a little on Instagram beforehand, but to get to spend some time with her and to see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see first-hand today.” – Nelly Korda
At 54, Sörenstam was asked if she ever had seen such buzz on Wednesday of a golf tournament. “On the LPGA? No,” she answered. “I think it’s awesome. Yeah, I love all the young girls with the signs. Nothing we would really see on a normal Wednesday. It’s just great how it brings attention to the tournament.”
Nelly Korda, holder of the No. 1 ranking in women’s golf that Sörenstam once owned in a World Golf Hall of Fame career, enjoyed walking the fairways and “chit-chatting” with Clark for nine holes. The two had been introduced through social-media channels, but this was the first time they met in person. Korda, 26, only four years older than Clark, said it felt like two old friends “hanging out.”
“We’ve messaged a little on Instagram beforehand,” Korda said, “but to get to spend some time with her and to see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see first-hand today.”
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan was at Pelican to watch, and accurately surmised that it was a day that left a good many in attendance “with smiles on their faces.” Clark, as they might say in Hollywood, is “box office.” A true needle-mover. Dan Doyle Jr., whose family owns and resurrected Pelican Club, a 1925 Donald Ross design, five years ago and, with help, has built The Annika into a premier event, said Clark’s presence in the pro-am increased Wednesday ticket sales “12x.”
“It was phenomenal,” Marcoux Samaan said. “The energy out here was terrific. Our athletes were amazing. She [Clark] was amazing. I think it just shows how interested people are in women’s sports.”
Yes, it’s been said that a rising tide lifts all boats, and on this day, the LPGA was gleefully ascending. Clark likes to remember that not long ago, she was the type of sports-crazy kid who held up those signs. She hit some good shots, enjoyed the pro-am, and embraced the experience. Bigger picture, women’s golf was thankful, too. It even had a message for the young star in return:
Don’t be a stranger, and please come back soon.