By: Max Bechtoldt
The 2024 edition of The Annika Driven by Gainbridge, held at Pelican Golf Club in Bellair, Florida, and hosted by the great Annika Sörenstam will feature a modern icon of sports.
WNBA superstar and 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark will be appearing as a panelist at the Women’s Leadership Summit before teeing it up on Wednesday for the tournament’s pro-am.
“I love golf so the opportunity to play in the Pro-Am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam’s name on it is so exciting,” said Clark.
Clark was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Selected as one of the greatest college performers ever, male or female, that dominance has now carried over to her professional career. She was voted the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year and led the Fever back to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. In the process, she was largely responsible for a major shift in the interest in both the WNBA as well as women’s sports in general.
Clark joked a couple weeks ago that she was going to focus on golf in the offseason and try to go pro. It seems the LPGA wasted no time in taking advantage of that. She has played in a pro-am before, at the 2023 John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour.
It isn’t unusual for great athletes to join the best players on the LPGA in pro-am rounds, as evidenced by NFL superstars Saquon Barkley and Davante Adams, and MLB legends like Roger Clemens. But to have a women’s sports star, this instantly iconic at an LPGA event is a big deal. Every move Caitlin Clark makes is covered by the biggest sports outlets in the world, and this will likely be no different.
