BELLEAIR, FL. – There’s a chance that the pro-am at this week’s LPGA Tour event, The Annika driven by Gainbridge, will create more excitement than the 72-hole event proper and there’s one major reason for that. Her name is Caitlin Clark.
As a basketball sensation Clark has brought more attention to women’s basketball at both the college and pro level. Now she’s doing the same in golf.
The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, invited Clark to play in one of its pro-ams. As a basketball star from nearby Iowa, she was a smash hit in the men’s event played at a course on the Illinois-Iowa border.
That appearance led to The Annika driven by Gainbridge bringing Clark to last year’s tournament. Same result there. Tournament host Annika Sorenstam was delighted when Clark returned for a day’s play before the four-day tournament proper tees off on Thursday.
Clark was the major attraction at the pro-am — but not the only one. She played nine holes with Nelly Korda, a three-time winner of the tournament, and nine more with Lauren Nguyen, a star from Northwestern’s NCAA championship team.
This time Clark also brought friends. Two of her teammates on the Indiana Fever, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham, came as celebrity guest caddies. They shot baskets with Clark in the middle of her pro-am round. They also hit ceremonial tee shots as did NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar and Briana Scurry, the U.S. goaltender on four World Cups and three Olympics Games teams.
They created a buzz, but so did some golfers. Nguyen was a sponsor exemption and will make her LPGA debut this week. So will Kai Trump – an 18-year old high school senior from Florida who is the oldest granddaughter of President Donald Trump. She’s bringing along Allan Kournikova, a long-time friend from South Florida who is the brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova, as her caddie.
Lots of athletic star power in that group, and the Pelican Country Club course was packed so tightly that parking was a major problem in the lots around the course on pro-am day.
“It’s nice to see women’s sports is in such good hands,’’ said Sorenstam, who was a legendary golfer on the LPGA circuit.
Clark’s magic resulted in the tournament sponsors making a $22,000 donation to her foundation and Nygyen was given $5,000 to help her Washington-based DUC Foundation.
All in it, this extraordinary pro-am created a lively atmosphere that the tournament proper might find hard to match. That tone was created in large part by non-tour stars. Korda was in the spirit, giving Clark a pair of new golf shoes that she just designed.
Clark, though downplayed her own golf skills.“I was a little messy off the tee,’’ said Clark. “I need to take some lessons, but golf is something I love to do. It’s not my main sport, and I’m not very good at it.’’
Trump also wasn’t invited strictly because of her golf skills, though she will be playing collegiately at the University of Miami.
“My dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour,’’ she said. “ This event will be an incredible experience.’’
No, her grandfather won’t be at the tournament.
“He’s running the world right now, so he’s a little busy,’’ Kai said. “My grandpa told me to just go out and have fun.’’
She has more than six million combined followers across social media and recently founded her own apparel and lifestyle brand aimed at empowering young women in sports. Golf is just a part her lifestyle.
“Any tournament wants buzz,’’ said Sorenstam, “and we’ve had it now for a lot of different reasons. Kai brings a lot of different people to the sport, and we want people to hear about our tournament and be a part of it. The word is spreading, and that’s a good thing.’’
