Caitlin Clark set to play again in The Annika pro-am after thrilling players and fans last year

Caitlin Clark’s introduction to the LPGA Tour was a giant success, and she’ll return to The Annika again next month.

It’s another big get for the LPGA Tour.

Clark, who plays for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA and is a celebrity wherever she goes, loves golf. She played in The Annika pro-am at Pelican Golf Club outside of Tampa last year and had thousands of fans lining the fairways in Fever and University of Iowa jerseys. She has an endorsement deal with Gainbridge, which is the presenting sponsor of the Annika event.

“I had an amazing time at The Annika last November and participating in the pro-am alongside Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam, two of the best in the game,” Clark said in a release on Thursday. “I’m honored to be an ambassador for a company in Gainbridge that is so committed to elevating women’s sports. I can’t wait to return to Tampa in November to play in the Pro-Am with the best women golfers in the world.”

Some of the best golfers in the world were also enamored of Clark. Maria Fassi finished her round last year and ran to the 18th hole to get a chance to meet Clark. Clark’s swings went viral on social media, especially after she hit one tee shot into the gallery, proving she’s just like us sometimes.

Caitlin Clark hits her shot on the third tee of the 2024 Annika.

Douglas P. DeFelice

“We’re thrilled to welcome Caitlin back to The Annika,” LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler told Golf Digest. “She’s a true superstar who brings incredible energy wherever she goes. The atmosphere at Pelican is going to be off the charts, and we’re excited for the LPGA fans to experience it.”

The 23-year-old Clark is ultra-competitive, and golf is a sport she loves to play in the offseason. She is coming off a disappointing second season in the WNBA in which she played in only 13 games (the last in mid-July) because of lower body injuries. Her fever team managed to reach the WNBA playoff semifinals before losing to eventual champion Las Vegas.

Clark will get those competitive juices going again at Pelican, and it will be interesting to see how her game has improved from last year. In the pro-am, she played nine holes with Sorenstam and nine with then-World No. 1 Korda. It’s unknown who she’ll be scheduled to play with this year on Nov. 12.

What’s clear is that she has fun teeing it up and fans love watching the rare opportunity to see her do it.

“It was so fun,” Clark said of her round last year. “Obviously, getting to see [LPGA players] do what they do up front, people would pay for that. I got to do it for free and have fun with them. Definitely a fun morning … very lucky and fortunate. Hung in there. Did all right. It was a good day.”

And it’s a good thing for the game that Clark enjoys it and has the power to introduce golf to basketball fans, children and folks who are simply curious. So many athletes, such as Stephen Curry, Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers are enamored with the game.

Everything Clark does seems to turn to gold, from swinging a club to watching a Kansas City Chiefs game in a suite with Taylor Swift.

When Clark became a star while playing basketball at Iowa, she was known to be an intense player who spent countless hours in the gym. Golf was one thing that could get her to focus on something else for a bit.

“Our coaches were, like, ‘You need to get away from the gym,” even though that’s really hard for me to do sometimes,” Clark said last year. “I still want to be active and do something, so I’m going to go to the golf course.”

Golf is a game for life, and Clark returning to the LPGA next month should bring plenty of buzz back again.

“It was an honor to play in the pro-am with Caitlin last year,” Sorenstam said in the release. “The crowds were amazing, and we are excited. … She added such a great dynamic to our event, and her passion for golf and competitiveness were fun to witness firsthand. I look forward to having her back and continuing to introduce the great game of golf to the next generation.”